Lamine Yamal: Equatorial Guinea and Morocco targeted Spanish footballer

Ndong Micha believes that Yamal is placing his mother’s nation firmly in the global spotlight, saying it echoes Ansu Fati’s breakthrough at an early age, also at Barcelona, when people learnt about his family’s country Guinea-Bissau.

“His performances – coupled with those in the Barca first team – show that Equatorial Guinea has an extraordinarily different way of playing to most African countries,” argues Ndong Micha.

“Given his talent, and his roots, we could one day have more players like Lamine here.”

Yamal is not the first Spain-based player with Equatoguinean roots to hit the headlines this year, after Emilio Nsue stunned global observers when finishing top scorer at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations aged 34.

Far less welcome global headlines followed last month, when Fifa ruled that the striker had never been declared eligible to play for Equatorial Guinea, for whom he is top scorer with 22 goals.

Nonetheless, his goals helped the “National Thunder” reach the final 16. The nation of under two million people has reached the knock-out phase at all four Afcons they have contested.

“We have to continue preparing well,” says Ndong Micha.

“The government will soon invest in football academies so that we can unearth more Lamines and Emilios in future. It is prepared to keep investing as it has in recent years to continue searching for natural talent from Equatorial Guinea, but particularly in the country itself.

“Prior to my arrival, we had never qualified for a Nations Cup on our own merits – only as a host nation (twice) – but we have now qualified twice for Afcon outright (in 2021 and 2023).

“On a sporting level, with Fifa, the Confederation of African Football, and our government we are going to keep growing football-wise so that in the next few years, Equatorial Guinea will be the model of a small country but a big giant-killer.”

If Ndong Micha gets his way and the tiny central African nation secures a historic first World Cup qualification, there is even a chance that Yamal could face his mother’s nation on the biggest stage one day.