Lens’ surprising title charge backed unsurprisingly by their African core

Make no mistake, despite their modest finances and reputation, they are definitely now in a title race with the oil-backed big spenders from Paris.

This all seems incredible since Lens were still playing in Ligue 2 as recently as 2020.

Even more incredible is the fact that Lens were promoted to the first division after the league season was cut short with 10 games to go, with Lens having only three points more than the team in fifth place at the time.

But for all the strangeness in Lens’ adventure to a possible Ligue 1 title, one thing about the club remains very familiar, and that is their dedication to having a core built around brilliant African stars. 

Ivorian midfielder Seko Fofana, the team’s captain, has been in outstanding form for Les Sang et Or, with incredible midfield performances alongside his Ghanaian midfield partner Salis Abdul Samed, who was a contender for man of the match when Lens defeated PSG.

Their Congolese goalkeeper Brice Samba and Malian wing-back Massadio Haiara have helped them to eight clean sheets with only 11 goals conceded, which is the lowest tally in the league.

They also have Cameroonian midfielder Jean Onana, as well as Cape Verdean defender Steven Fortes who have played crucial bit-part roles as Lens try to keep up with PSG at the top of the table

The last time Lens finished this high in Ligue 1 and came this close to winning the league, they had some of the continent’s most reputable names on their squad list.

They had 2002 African Player of the Year El Hadji Diouf, as well as his national teammates Ferdinand Coly and Pape Sarr and the Malian duo of Adama Coulibaly and Daouda Jabi.

Coly and Coulibaly had already made history with the club alongside Ghanaian midfielder Alex Nyarko, being part of their first ever UEFA Champions League campaign in 1999/2000.

By the time Lens played in the UCL again in the 2002/03 season, they had added Nigerian forward John Utaka, Senegal’s Papa Bouba Diop (whose number at the club has been retired), and Abdoulaye Faye, Cameroonian captain Rigobert Song, Malian legend-to-be Seydou Keita, and Ivorian forward Dagui Bakari to the first team.

Even when Lens won its first, and so far only, Ligue 1 title, it did so with the likes of Nigeria’s Wilson Oruma, Cameroon’s Marc-Vivien Foe, and Madagascar’s Herve Arsène, whose son Faed also played for the club. 

Additionally, they served as a stopgap home for other African talents like current Cameroonian internationals Enzo Ebosse, ex-defender Benoit Assou-Ekoto, ex-goalkeeper Charles Itandje, and legendary forwards François Omam-Biyik and Joseph-Désiré Job.

They also had Guinean forward Titi Camara, Mali’s Djimi Traore, Ivory Coast’s Bonaventure Kalou, Serge Aurier, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin. 

From the late 90s to the mid 2000s, there were few teams that served as launching pads for African talents as prominently as Lens did, and they reaped the benefits of having some of the continent’s finest players. 

With the team’s performance in the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season looking to go down in the club’s history as one of the most memorable seasons, it is hard to look past Lens’ African core and the fruits of the club’s belief in the continent again.