Africa Cup of Nations: The three former Bristol City players taking part this month - including former striker

The African Cup of Nations started yesterday in what is hoped to be an entertaining month of international football.

It is a tournament which for those involved holds major importance as winning the competition allows you to be called the pride of Africa.

As was the European Championship important to England, who reached the finals, there is the same sense of pride for those playing in the AFCON.

Over the years, there have been a number of players to come from the African continent to turn out for the club.

There was even a chant of both Albert Adomah and Yannick Bolasie running down the wing for City fans as the two wreaked havoc on Championship defences.

The likes of Benik Afobe, Dele Adebola, Patrick Agyemang, Kevin Amankwaah, Andre Bikey and of course first-team coach Kalifa Cissé have also got African connections.

In what is the 33rd installment of the competition, we bring to your attention the former Robins players who will feature in this tournament.

Jojo Wollacott

What a few months it’s been for the Bristolian goalkeeper. Released by Bristol City and now on the international stage.

The 25-year-old was one of a number of players not kept on but that was understandable given the number one Daniel Bentley is captain, whilst Max O’Leary is a more than capable stand-in.

Wollacott spent ten years of his career at Ashton Gate but made no senior appearance for the club, instead making multiple loan moves, including to his new club Swindon Town.

In a dramatic turn of events, he is now playing in a major tournament for one of the most fancied sides to win the competition, playing with the likes of Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew and Arsenal’s Thomas Partey.

He qualifies for Ghana through his mother who was born in Accra and made his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe back in October. As well as this month’s tournament, he also stands on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup after they reached the play-offs, which will take place in March.

His involvement in this competition meant that he had to miss out on Swindon’s FA Cup match with Manchester City, but given that AFCON is a month-long tournament, he won’t mind too much.

Coach Milovan Rajevac has a key decision to make in either plying Wollacott or going for St.Gallen goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi who has three more caps than Wollacott and plays in the Swiss Super League rather than the fourth tier of English football.

The Black Stars kick off their campaign against Morocco at 16.00 GMT, they then play Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon on Friday, 14 January at 19:00 before concluding the group stage against Comoros on Tuesday, 18 Jan at 19.00 GMT.

Famara Diedhiou

After running down his four-year contract, City’s third most expensive signing Famara Diedhiou joined Alanyaspor.

The 29-year-old who arrived from French side Angers, made more than 150 appearances for the club, breaking into double figures in three of his four seasons with the club.

Diedhiou’s status for the competition has been cast into doubt after a COVID-19 outbreak has affected favourites Senegal with a number of their key players missing.

Unfortunately the former Bristol City striker is one of them. He along with the likes of Chelsea’s Eduoard Mendy and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly returned positive tests.

He will have to hope that his team can do well in his absence, he will already miss today’s opener against Zimbabwe.

His isolation period probably comes too soon for the match against Guinea on Friday but depending on his fitness and condition, he could face Malawi on Tuesday, 18 January.

Steven Caulker

It’s been over a decade since he played for the club but if you’ll remember, Steven Caulker and England international Danny Rose were sent to Ashton Gate on loan. Caulker, who had been playing for Yeovil Town the season before, was on a season-long loan from Spurs and City would play a part in the development of his career.

He scored his first career goal in a 3-2 defeat to Cardiff City, a team he would later go on to captain. Unfortunately his loan was cut short after a knee cartilage injury but drew high praise from both Keith Millen and David James, earning the Young Player of the Year award.

With one England appearance and a goal to boast on his debut, you’d question how he can play for another country, but as the game was only a friendly against Sweden, he is still eligible to play for another team. Eligible for both Scotland and Sierra Leone, he opted to play for Sierra Leone, qualifying for them through his paternal grandfather.

It’s quite a tough group for the centre-back to deal with as he’ll have to play against Algeria tomorrow at 13:00.

He will then have to deal with the likes of Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha on Sunday at 16.00.

Sierra Leone’s group concludes on Thursday, 20 January at 16.00 against Equatorial Guinea so make sure to keep an eye out on one of the stories of the competition.

Where can I watch the African Cup of Nations?

Sky Sports and BBC hold the rights for the competition with the former broadcasting most of the matches.

Keep an eye out on Live Football on TV, which will be your best guide to watching the AFCON.