It is nearly three decades since the first Senegalese player appeared in the Premier League.
Ali Dia infamously tricked Southampton manager Graeme Souness into believing he was the cousin of AC Milan and Liberia great George Weah, and made one unimpressive Premier League appearance against Leeds United in November 1996.
Thankfully, that was not a portent of things to come as dozens from Senegal have shone on the Premier League - and EFL Championship - stage in the 29 years since.
Seven of those players have worn the Claret and Blue of West Ham United. Only Newcastle United, with eight, have been represented by more players from the West African country.
Senegal declared independence from France in 1960. The nation’s football federation was formed the following year, and Senegal joined FIFA in 1962 and the CAF in 1963 and finished fourth at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1965.
However, it would be 37 years until the Lions of Teranga truly roared onto the world stage as, under the management of Frenchman Bruno Metsu, Senegal were runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations, then defeated reigning champions France, drew with Denmark and Uruguay, then knocked out Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Many of the players who starred in those tournaments were soon playing in the Premier League. Liverpool signed forward El Hadji Diouf and midfielder Salif Diao, midfielders Amdy Faye, Papa Bouba Diop and Khalilou Fadiga joined Portsmouth, Fulham and Bolton Wanderers respectively, and striker Henri Camara went to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Diop and Camara would later join West Ham United, with the former playing his part alongside compatriot Abdoulaye Faye in helping the Hammers win promotion back to the Premier League in 2011/12.
In the 20-plus years since Metsu’s Lions caught the world’s attention, nearly 50 Senegalese players have appeared in the Premier League and one, forward Sadio Mané, won both the title and UEFA Champions League with Liverpool.
As El Hadji Malick Diouf prepares to become the eighth Senegalese player to represent West Ham, we reflect on the seven who made a positive impact during their time in east London…
Henri Camara
Dakar-born Henri Camara was a speedy forward who had scored regularly for Swiss club Neuchâtel Xamax and French side Sedan, and scored Senegal’s winning goal against Sweden in the 2002 FIFA World Cup round of 16.
Camara moved to English football in 2003, when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers. From there, he went on loan to Celtic and Southampton, then found form at Wigan Athletic, with whom he reached the League Cup final in 2006.
A year later, Camara was loaned to West Ham for the 2007/08 season, but he failed to find the net in ten Premier League appearances. He later appeared for Stoke City and Sheffield United before moving to Greek football for the remainder of his career.
Demba Ba
A tall, slender striker, Demba Ba burst onto the scene at French club Rouen in 2005 when he scored 22 goals in 26 appearances in the fourth-tier Championnat de France Amateur. His prolific form continued at Belgian club Mouscron and German side Hoffenheim, who he helped win promotion to the Bundesliga in 2008.
In January 2011, with West Ham struggling at the bottom of the Premier League, Ba was signed. He scored two goals on his full debut at West Bromwich Albion, then netted in vital home victories over Liverpool and Stoke City.
When he put West Ham 2-0 up at Wigan Athletic on the final day of the season, a dramatic escape was on, but the home side scored three second-half goals to send the Hammers down and Ba departed for Newcastle United that summer.
Papa Bouba Diop
Nicknamed ‘The Wardrobe’ due to his 6’5 height and unwillingness to let opponents past, defensive midfielder Papa Bouba Diop is one of the greatest players in Senegal history.
After spells in Switzerland with Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers, Diop joined French club Lens in January 2002, then starred at that year’s Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the victory over defending champions France, and netting twice against Uruguay.
In summer 2004, he joined Fulham and won the club’s Player of the Year award in 2005/06. He moved to Portsmouth in 2007 and helped Pompey win the FA Cup in his first season.
After a year in Greece with AEK Athens, Diop returned to England with West Ham and was a popular member of the squad who won promotion via the EFL Championship Play-Offs in his single season in east London. Diop finished his career at Birmingham City and sadly passed away in 2020, aged just 42.
Abdoulaye Faye
The second Senegalese member of Sam Allardyce’s promotion-winning squad, towering defender Abdoulaye Faye was 33 and an experienced Premier League player when he joined West Ham in June 2011.
After starting out at ASEC Ndiambour and Jeanne d’Arc in his homeland, Faye moved to French club Lens in 2002 - although he was not a member of the World Cup squad that summer. He was first signed by Allardyce for Bolton Wanderers in 2005, then followed Big Sam to Newcastle in 2007.
He then had a successful three-year spell at Stoke City, winning Player of the Year honours and being appointed captain, before reuniting with Allardyce again in east London and making 29 Championship appearances as the Hammers won promotion via the Play-Offs.
Mohamed Diamé
An unstoppable central midfield player on his day, Mohamed Diamé was an incredible athlete who could dominate games during his two seasons at West Ham between 2012 and 2014.
Born in the Paris suburb of Creteil in France to Senegalese parents, Diamé attended the Clairefontaine academy and played for Lens and Spanish clubs Linares and Rayo Vallecano before moving to English football with Wigan Athletic in 2009.
Three years later, after he had played for Senegal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Sam Allardyce brought him to east London to bolster his newly-promoted squad and Diamé played 33 times and scored against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to help the Hammers re-establish themselves in the Premier League.
Diamé then played his part as the Irons reached the League Cup semi-finals in 2013/14 before he was sold to Hull City in September 2014. He later played for Newcastle United, Qatari clubs Al-Ahli and Al-Sailiya and Spanish third-tier side Fuenlabrada before retiring in 2024.
Cheikhou Kouyaté
Born in Dakar, central midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté spent eight years in Belgium with RWDM Brussels, Anderlecht and Kortrijk after being scouted while playing for ASC Yego Dakar as a teenager. He won four Belgian Pro League titles and three Belgian Super Cups while with Anderlecht and also helped Senegal reach the quarter-finals at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Kouyaté joined West Ham in June 2014 for what proved to be a bargain £7 million fee. Over the next four seasons, he would play 147 games for the Club, scoring 15 goals. Among them the first two in London Stadium history in the Hammers’ 3-0 victory over NK Domžale of Slovenia in the UEFA Europa League on 4 August 2016.
Kouyaté transferred to Crystal Palace in summer 2018 and spent four seasons at Selhurst Park, during which he captained Senegal to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 2021, then ended his playing career with Nottingham Forest.
Diafra Sakho
An unknown in English football before he signed for West Ham in August 2014, Diafra Sakho was a powerful all-round centre-forward.
Born in the Dakar suburb of Guédiawaye, Sakho began his football career with the Génération Foot academy, which led to a move to French club Metz at the age of 17. There, Sakho thrived, scoring 20 goals in consecutive seasons to fire Metz to back-to-back promotions to Ligue 1 and win the Ligue 2 Player of the Year award in 2013/14.
Sakho made an incredible impact in Claret and Blue, scoring on each of his first six Premier League starts to match Coventry City striker Mick Quinn’s record that had stood for 22 years. He won the Premier League Player of the Month award for October 2014, too.
In 2015/16, Sakho scored in Premier League wins at Liverpool, Manchester City and Everton, and in the 3-2 victory over Manchester United in the final game at the Boleyn Ground.
He departed for French club Rennes in January 2018, then played out his career in Turkey, Switzerland and France, retiring in July 2023.
