Royals tyro Ben Elliott swapped England’s youth teams for Cameroon’s seniors ahead of this month’s AFCON...
EFL NEWS
From Mohamed Salah to Idrissa Gueye, a whole host of Premier League stars could be strutting their stuff at the Africa Cup of Nations this month. But it won’t just be top-tier ballers shining in the Ivory Coast – countless lower-leagues aces have represented the competing nations in recent times.
Bizarrely, 21-year-old former Chelsea youth-teamer Ben Elliott, who signed for League One Reading over the summer, made his senior international debut for Cameroon before he’d played in a senior club game. Scouts had spotted him impressing for his old side in a pre-season friendly against Aston Villa in 2022 – during his spell at Stamford Bridge, he also totalled six appearances for the Blues’ under-21s in the EFL Trophy.
The deep-lying central midfielder, born in Kingston upon Thames to an English mum and Cameroonian dad, had previously won caps for England at youth level, but was thrilled to receive an invitation to turn out for the birth nation of his father.
“That was a true honour,” he tells FFT of his debut, in a June friendly against Mexico in San Diego. “The possibility of playing for Cameroon had always been on my mind because of my dad, so it was incredible to receive that call. I always felt that I’d be happy to play for England or Cameroon if I was lucky enough to get the chance for either. Obviously Cameroon nipped in first – I think my dad was secretly happy!”
The tyro came on in that clash as a late substitute for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo – “A top player, which made it even more surreal,” beams Elliott (below) – before playing in two further friendlies and a 2026 World Cup qualifier, the latter a 3-0 victory over Mauritius. “Every time I go away I just love it,” he adds. “I’d actually never even been to Africa before all of this, although I’d often dreamed of it. Playing for your country is the best chance to do that. It’s been mad.”
Elliott has also been picking up senior experience at club level this campaign, representing Reading 15 times in the third tier by mid-December. He’s been trying to improve his French, too, in order to make communication with his Cameroon team-mates as smooth as possible.
“I’ve been taking lessons and even watching French language Netflix shows,” he explains. “I’m a big fan of Lupin, which I watch with French subtitles switched on. Most of the Cameroon players speak
