Lens and DR Congo’s Gaël Kakuta named 2021 best African player in Ligue 1

Former Chelsea playmaker and Democratic Republic of Congo national team member Gaël Kakuta returned to his first professional club RC Lens on loan from Amiens and has enjoyed a career season in Ligue 1, capping off his campaign by winning the highly-valued Prix Marc-Vivien Foé. The award honors the best player in the league who represents an African national team and Kakuta is the first member of both Lens and the DR Congo national team to win the award, scoring an impressive 11 goals and providing 5 assists in 34 games this season as Lens are in position to qualify for European competition next season. BBC Sport’s Oluwashina Okeleji details the significance of Kakuta’s accomplishment.