Manchester City signing Abdukodir Khusanov became the first player from Uzbekistan to play in the Premier League after starting against Chelsea on Saturday.
This took the total number of nationalities represented in the Premier League’s 33-year history to 126.
Uganda joins some notable nations yet to have a Premier League player including India, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Thailand.
While the league has seen representatives from 126 different countries since its inception in 1992, no player who has officially represented Uganda at the international level has played in the EPL.
However, players of Ugandan origin have featured in the league, though they represented other nations.
Among them is Savio Nsereko, who played for Germany at the youth level, as he could not secure dual citizenship in time.
Similarly, Joel Kitamirike, who played for Chelsea, represented England at youth level. Though he was eligible to play for Uganda, immigration laws at the time did not permit dual nationality, and he opted to keep his British citizenship.
Brothers Andy and Chris Kiwomya also played in the English top flight but chose to represent England at the international level.
Their appearances, however, were before the Premier League era, as they played in the old First Division in the 1980s.
Additionally, former Uganda Cranes captain Ibrahim Dafala trained with Manchester United while on a study trip in the UK in the 1960s, but he never played in an official match for the club.
With other African nations like Nigeria (57), Senegal (46), and Ghana (34) having had several players represent them in the EPL, Uganda remains among the 62 nations yet to see one of its own capped players make an appearance in the world’s most-watched football league.
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