France leads world in Football talent exports
A detailed investigation by The Athletic has found that France has become the world's leading powerhouse for producing and developing football talent.
At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 99 players born in France are representing 13 different national teams, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.
That figure makes France the world's largest exporter of football talent, ahead of Netherlands, which ranks second with 67 players.
The epicenter of this success is Paris, where 56 of those players were born.
Impact on other national teams
The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland described the atmosphere in the Paris district of La Chapelle, where, despite temperatures reaching 40°C, French and Senegalese fans celebrated their teams' achievements together. The growing number of dual-nationality players is reshaping international football.
The distribution of France-born players by national team at the World Cup is as follows:
Algeria – 13 players
Haiti – 12 players
Democratic Republic of the Congo – 11 players
Senegal – 10 players
Ivory Coast – 8 players
Tunisia – 7 players
Morocco – 6 players
Cape Verde – 3 players
Ghana – 3 players
Egypt – 1 player
Qatar – 1 player
Spain – 1 player
Why Paris replaced São Paulo
Although legendary coach Arsène Wenger once described São Paulo as the world's greatest breeding ground for football talent, that title now belongs to Paris.
Players such as Pape Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye, who represent Senegal, were raised and developed in France.
According to Hubert Fournier, technical director of the French Football Federation, France's dominance is the result of long-term investment in youth football, intense competition among local clubs, and the country's social diversity.
He said successive generations of immigration have brought creativity and a distinctive style of play, helping produce world-class stars such as Ousmane Dembélé, Riyad Mahrez, and Rayan Cherki.
Photo: Instagram
