Sport
Nations with 1 player in Premier League history
Football is always considered the world’s game – a sport that is played and enjoyed in all four corners of the planet. With that in mind, it means that the bigger leagues will attract players of all backgrounds. The Premier League being no exception. In fact, the English top flight has seen players from 114 different nations (based on FIFA criteria) appear in the competition since it’s 1992 restructuring. Alongside hundreds of stars appearing from established sides, there are a few players who have been a sole representative of their nation in the competition.
Pakistan
In the subcontinent, football still lags behind many other sports. It’s why the region has had almost no representation in major football leagues – despite South Asia being home to almost 2 billion people. Pakistan are the only nation from this region to boast a national team member in the Premier League – that being Birmingham-born Zesh Rahman. Mainly deployed as a centre-back, Rahman appeared with Fulham in 2003 after rising through their youth ranks. His best season came in the 2004/05 campaign where he made 17 starts for Fulham as the club battled hard for survival. However, Rahman wasn’t able to hold down regular spots within the team leaving to join QPR in 2006. From here, Rahman debuted as a Pakistan international and spent most of his career traversing the English league system before moving into management.
Suriname
Suriname is very much caught in a crossroads in international football. Despite being a South American nation, they actually compete under North America’s CONCACF division. With strong cultural and historic roots stretching back to their colonization by the Dutch centuries ago, plenty of Suriname born players have appeared in the Premier League but gone on to represent The Netherlands instead. That includes the likes of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Regi Blinker over the years. However, Ryan Donk bucked the trend when he competed for Suriname in 2021. Donk only briefly appeared in the Premier League spending half a season with West Brom in the 2008/09 campaign but his change of allegiance has finally given the small nation some official representation in the Premier League.
Cuba
Cuba is a very unique nation that is an enigma to the Western world. Its geopolitical leanings have left it isolated and this has affected their position in football too. In fact, Cuba national team representatives have to get special approval to play overseas and play for the side. However, Onel Hernandez is a player that bucked this trend. Being born in Cuba, Hernandez was raised in Germany and came through the German youth football system. After moving to Norwich from Eintracht Braunschweig in 2017, he was with The Canaries when they were promoted ahead of the 2019-20 season. Hernandez would be a regular part of Norwich’s rather disappointing season where they were relegated straight away. However, the winger would create an innocuous part of history during a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in August 2019. Scoring Norwich’s only goal of the game, he became the only Cuban to both play and score in the Premier league – a record he still holds onto to this very day.
Kenya
Kenya has a rich sporting history in many sports however football is not really one of them. It’s why they have had few representatives in top leagues. However, Victor Wanyama changed all that when he signed for Southampton in 2013 from Celtic. A creative playmaker who had an excellent eye for passes, Wanyama looked at home in the Premier league for the entirety of his time there. His best form came after he left Southampton to join Tottenham in 2016. During the 2016/17 campaign, Wanyama played 30 times for Spurs and netted 4 goals for the club. Injuries and management changes then hindered Wanyama getting the chance to enjoy regular football at the club and he left to join MLS side CF Montreal in 2020.
Oman
The Middle East is always a good hub for discovering diamonds in the rough and one who proves this theory correct is Ali Al-Habsi. One of Oman’s biggest sporting stars, Al-Habsi moved to England in 2006 after joining Bolton Wanderers from Norwegian side Lyn Oslo. During his first five seasons, Al-Habsi made only handful of starts deputising for regular keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen on the odd occasion. However, his best form came in 2010 after he joined relegation-threatened Wigan. With The Latics, Al-Habsi excellent athleticism and agility made him a cult hero at the club. His heroics in the 2010-11 season saw him named Wigan’s Player of the Year after he helped them stave off relegation. He remained their number one for four more season including after their relegation in 2013. Al-Habsi would stay in English football for most of his career playing in the EFL Championship until 2020.
Gibraltar
It’s amazing to think that FIFA’s newest member has Premier League representation. With the national side having a best ranking of 190 and only playing their first match in 2012, the tiny principality has a representative in the English top flight. That representative is storied veteran defender Danny Higginbotham. Higginbotham’s appearances for Gibraltar came due to his grandmother hailing from the island. Yet the Gibraltar star had a wealth of top-flight experience having played over 200 games in the top flight for the likes of Derby County, Southampton & Stoke. His consistency saw him named Player of the Year whilst at both Derby & Stoke underlining his experience at the top level for several different sides. It was why Higginbotham appearing for Gibraltar was a pleasant surprise for the emerging nation and shows that even the smallest of nations can be represented in the world’s biggest leagues.
