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Africans forget paperwork for French players

Several young players turned to African countries following the row that broke out in April when French website Mediapart, citing sources within the French Football Federation (FFF), said FFF officials were in favour of ethnic quotas.

The FFF denied they had discussed the idea of enforcing limits on black and Arab players in youth academies.

Both players were named on standby for Nigeria's match against Argentina on Wednesday and a Nations Cup qualifier in Ethiopia at the weekend.

"The systems they have in France means we are able to gather good players who are from the second generation of migrants," Senegal Football Federation president Augustine Senghor said in a Radio France international interview.

"But we have also lost a lot of potential players to France, like Alou Diarra and Patrice Evra. This is a pity for us.

"Overall we reckon France gains as much from its African players as Africa does from players schooled in France."