African players to watch in the Belgian Pro League this season

African players to watch in the Belgian Pro League this season This post was originally posted on the Substack Stories from African Football by Ben Jackson. You can subscribe to that here . Over the past few years, I’ve probably become a bit of a football hipster. As the money in English football has continued to increase, I found myself becoming increasingly disillusioned with the constant grind of Premier League football, with stories of how much teams are spending on players every summer feeling a world away from the cost of living crisis the rest of the country is in. I remain a dedicated Reading fan despite our struggles, as well as following my other footballing passion which is Fortuna Dusseldorf, having lived near the city as a kid and had a season ticket for a few years (when we were in the regional leagues and getting relegated to the fourth tier of German football!). Just prior to COVID, I began to explore other leagues. Travelling around Scandinavia with my wife as she worked on a cruise ship, I began to keep up with the leagues in Sweden and Norway. When COVID hit, I turned to the Belgian Pro League. My interest in African football had drawn me to a league which has helped many a player from the continent go on to great things or just have a successful career in Belgium. Over the past few years I have been part of the Belgian Football Podcast and write for Get Belgian and Dutch Football every week on stories from the Belgian and Dutch leagues. I have been fortunate to go behind the scenes at both Cercle Brugge and Union St Gilloise in recent years as a result. For those interested, the podcast just dropped our annual marathon pre season preview, which can be found here. In fact, it is almost as long as the marathon I did this year, just coming in under the 3 hours and 31 minutes it took me to get round Brighton. Belgian football is chaotic at times, but each team has a bunch of passionate fans and the history of these teams is just as interesting as the modern day players who represent them. For anyone interested in the history, I can’t recommend James Kelly’s book Golden enough. It really does paint the vivid picture of how Belgian football has endured over the decades. For a weekly substack on Belgian football, Scott Coyne , my friend and one of the trio that makes up the Belgian Football Podcast (alongside Joris Becq), writes about the ins and outs of the league in detail. With the season set to kick off today, I thought I’d highlight the quality of African talent on show this season. Below I’ve picked one African player, at various stages of their careers, to watch from each of the 18 teams. Anderlecht – Ali Maamar The 21-year-old from Morocco Ali Maamar is one of those who have come through the Neerpede academy in Brussels, famous for producing some of the best Belgian players ever. He had a real breakout season last year and has already been capped by the Moroccan national team. Morocco has been very successful in persuading those with joint Belgian and Moroccan heritage to opt to represent the Atlas Lions in recent years. Maamar may well be a future Atlas Lion full-back once the current starters have hung up their boots. Cercle Brugge – Emmanuel Kakou Another youngster, I saw Kakou play in person last season and there is clearly some room to grow for the 21-year-old Ivorian. Cercle Brugge are an incredibly young side and as a result, Kakou has played far more than most young defenders would have at other clubs. He’s likely to be a regular starter for the side again this year and is clearly on the radar of the Cote d’Ivoire national team, having been called up to the U23 side already. Club Brugge – Vince Osuji Vnce Osuji was an interesting signing for Club Brugge in 2025. After making just 16 appearances for Kalmar in the Swedish top flight, Club Brugge brought the young Nigerian defender to Belgium. He has played three times for the Club Brugge first team, with most of his time coming in the sides second team. Joel Ordonez injury and potential transfer could open up some opportunities for him. Club Brugge are a side that, despite the pressure to win titles, are always willing to give young players from the academy a chance if they believe in them. This season may well be the one where we see if Osuji is part of their plans going forward. Genk – Rafiu Durosinmi Genk spent, for them, a decent amount of money to sign Durosinmi from Pisa this summer. Especially when you consider he only scored one goal for the Italian side in 12 games last season. But, Genk have had a lot of success with Nigerian strikers in recent years. Take the Premier League struggles that both Paul Onuachu and Tolu Arokodare faced out of the equation, both scored a lot of goals for Genk during their time in Belgium. I expect that 23-year-old Durosinmi will be able to do the same. Gent – Abdelkahar Kadri Like so many of the Algerians who have shone in Belgian football, Kadri began his career in the Paradou AC set up. After being one of Kortrijk’s best players, he moved to Gent in 2025 but hasn’t been quite able to show his class just yet. He should really suit the style of play that Rik De Mil wants to operate with, but so far, during early season European qualifiers, he hasn’t had much game time. Hopefully that will change at some point this season for the incredibly talented 26-year-old. Kortrijk – Shandre Campbell Kortrijk are a team I am really interested in this season, mainly because of their signings. Goduine Koyalipou of the Central African Republic was almost my pick in this spot, but in the end I opted for South African youngster Shandre Campbell. The 21-year-old left Club Brugge to get more game time at Kortrijk, and that should certainly happen. He showed some signs of his talent in the second tier of Belgian football and this year he has the chance to prove that he can produce at the top level. It could be a real boost for Bafana Bafana if he does. KV Mechelen – Moncef Zekri I wanted to go with Bill Antonio of Zimbabwe here, but he now has another injury set back which is really frustrating for him and KV Mechelen. Instead, I’ll go with another Moroccan potential future star in Moncef Zekri the 17-year-old left sided defender already has 20 appearances for KV Mechelen and could be a starter this season. If he is, I expect clubs from the top leagues in Europe to be putting in some decent bids for him next summer. Perhaps he and Maamar are the future full-backs of the Atlas Lions. Lommel – Henry Oware Lommel are the City Group representative in Belgium and finally made it to the top flight. Henry Oware was part of that promotion winning side and the 22-year-old may have his work cut out a the back this season. Lommel only finished fifth in the second tier and won out in the play-offs. So far, they haven’t been very active in the transfer window despite their disadvantages in terms of on paper talent. Ghana’s Oware has been part of the City Group set up for some time, having left Troyes in 2023 to join Lommel. OH Leuven – Emmanuel Addai Another potential Black Star, Addai joins an OH Leuven side that have underperformed for far too long now. The 25-year-old winger left Qarabag to sign in Belgium and will hopefully provide some excitement on the wings. OH Leuven have lacked this for a few years now, and their transfers have been poor. If Addai can buck the trend then he could be on for a decent season, having been able to experience top level European football with Qarabag last year. RAAL La Louviere – Samuel Gueulette Rwandan players in European football are sadly few and far between, yet many of those who have made the transition across to the continent have done so through Belgium. Samuel Guelette is one of those representing Rwanda in the Belgian Pro League. The 26-year-old isn’t always a guaranteed starter but is a solid player for a RAAL La Louviere side hoping to avoid second season syndrome. He has been with the club since 2022 and has helped them achieve two promotions in that time. Gueulette has also represented Rwanda at international level a handful of times. For more on football in Rwanda I’ve written a few pieces on the history of Rwandan football and Rayon Sport . Antwerp – Youssef Hamdaoui I am usually not a fan of those amateur football scouts who proclaim wonderkids or the next big thing. However, I am going to say I think Hamdaoui has plenty of potential to go quite far in the game. The 18-year-old Moroccan is technically very gifted and is part of a very young Antwerp side where he should get plenty of game time. He showed flashes of what he could do last season and I hope this season he gets a lot more minutes to show me if I am being a bit too optimistic about his future chances. SK Beveren – Kurt Abrahams South Africa’s Kurt Abrahams has been waiting a long time to get back to playing in the Belgian Pro League. Abrahams, a diminutive winger for a Belgian side, has spent most of his time in the second tier or outside of the country. Now, at the age of 29, he gets his chance again in the top flight. He had a decent season as SK Beveren demolished the second tier, but I am intrigued to see if his size will be more of a hinderance in the physical Belgian Pro League. Hopefully his ability on the ball will counteract any defender that tries to get overly physical with the South African winger. Charleroi – Cheick Keita One of the only players from Mali on the list, Keita has been somewhat of a scoring central defender during his brief time in the Belgian Pro League. The 23-year-old has scored six goals for the Zebras and is a key player at the back. Charleroi have plenty of African talent to keep an eye on, as they always seem happy to give players from the African continent a chance to forge a career in European football. I like Keita a lot and hope he earns a first cap for Mali soon. Sint Truiden – Oumar Diouf Sint Truiden lost their top scorer this summer, with Keisuke Goto returning to Anderlecht and then leaving for the Bundesliga. Last January they brought in Oumar Diouf after his exploits for RFC Liege in the second tier. Nine goals in 20 games is a decent return, and now the Senegalese forward looks set to be the sides potential first choice, although they are in the market for a striker. Hopefully Diouf gets the nod early on and cements his place in the side. After the move, he scored three goals in 16 games but did look a threat when he came off the bench. Standard Liege – Matthieu Epolo Standard Liege have a long history of signing African players. They also have a goalkeeper in Matthieu Epolo who came through the academy system and has pledged his international allegiance to the DR Congo. The 21-year-old has, in my opinion, all the attributes necessary to be the Leopards future number one. He was part of the World Cup squad and should be the number one for Standard Liege this season. An excellent shot stopper, Epolo just needs to work on the rest of his game during this Belgian Pro League season. Union St Gilloise – Herve Koffi Adem Zorgane or even new signing Relbohile Mofokeng were probably what people expected in this slot, but for me, there is only one player I could pick for Union St Gilloise. Herve Koffi of Burkina Faso is my favourite African goalkeeper of the current generation. The 29-year-old was excellent for Charleroi a few seasons ago and impressed on loan at Amiens last season. He replaces Kjell Scherpen who moved to Ipswich and should provide the perfect high quality goalkeeper Union St Gilloise need in their bid for another Belgian Pro League title. The former ASEC Mimosas man is one of the best shot stoppers in the league. Westerlo – Ibrahim Fofana 22-year-old Ivorian midfielder Ibrahim Fofana will spend the season on loan from Amiens. Westerlo have a really young squad with Fofana being one of the older players at 22. He should get a decent amount of game time with Westerlo in the midfield areas, with the side having lost a key player in Arthur Piedfort to Auxerra this summer. Zulte Waregem – Hemsley Akpa-Chukwu Perhaps a slight cheat here, but Akpa-Chukwu was born in Douala, even if he represented Belgium at youth level. After eight goals in 26 games for RFC Seraing last season the 21-year-old has earned a move to Zulte Waregem in the Belgian Pro League. The side have lost so many goals this summer, but perhaps the tall striker born in Cameroon can be a hidden gem of a signing for the side. They could really do with this one coming off as they look set for a difficult season under Michael Beale. The Belgian Pro League has changed its format for this season, scrapping the play-offs that confuse many of those who don’t watch the league regularly. It will change the dynamics of how the league has worked and how teams have approached it, but the level of excitement, drama and chaos should still be the same. For those interested in African football, there will be plenty of talent on show, with every team having at least one or two players worth taking a look at. GBeNeFN  |  Ben Jackson