For football fans in Africa, the UK's English Premier League (EPL) is king, the ultimate championship, their main place of their worship. But which team is the most popular on the continent? The global football brand is followed by more than a billion people around the world and 260 million of these are in Africa.

As the 2015-16 season kicks off, beer bars and cafes from Cape Town to Cairo to Lagos Nigeria will be preparing for an influx of fans, getting ready to follow the action on big screens.

But which team is the most popular on the continent?

We may never be able to give a definitive answer, though research carried out by Twitter gives us a fair idea, taking the total number of people in each country who follow official Twitter accounts of Premier League teams, and then breaking those figures down to give percentages for each team:

CHELSEA

There is no doubt Chelsea is the club of choice in this region.

You cannot talk about the Premier League in West Africa without thinking of Didier Drogba, Solomon Kalou, Samuel Eto'o, Victor Moses, Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi, all West Africans who have played for The Blues.

However, Drogba stands out because of his achievements both on and off the field. Of course, he was a legendary striker for the club, scoring the winning penalty to clinch the Champions League for Chelsea in 2012, and also becoming the first African player to score 100 EPL goals in the same year.
But he is also widely revered in his native Ivory Coast for his peace-building efforts after a conflict broke out in 2010-2011, and has started his own foundation to promote health and education in the country.

ARSENAL

The colour of choice for East Africa is red for Arsenal. Much of the Gunners' popularity here can be put down to the "Invincibles", the record-breaking team of the 2003-04 season which won the league without losing a single match, as part of a 49-game unbeaten run.

A strong showing of African players like Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Lauren made them even more popular. Kanu is surely one of the main reasons for Arsenal's popularity in Nigeria as well.

Surprisingly only one East African has ever played in the Premier League - Kenya and Southampton's Victor Wanyama.

MANCHESTER UNITED

It is not a surprise that Manchester United is the most popular club in southern Africa.
They are the most successful team in the history of the EPL, winning 13 titles since the league started in 1992.

They also signed one of South Africa's biggest stars, Quinton Fortune, who played for the Red Devils for seven years.


He is also one of the many ex-players who travel to the region as a brand ambassador every year. South Africa was the first country in Africa to have an official Manchester United Supporters Club.

OTHERS

For North Africans Arsenal is the club of choice. The Gunners have solid representation in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Active fan clubs in these countries have helped popularise the north London club through activities such as the annual fun run "Be a Gunner. Be a Runner".


But in Egypt, it is Chelsea which rules the roost - thanks to Mohamed Salah's $17m (£11m) move to the English champions in January 2014.

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The Blues eventually ran out comfortable winners at Stamford Bridge after the Belgian forward won and converted a first-half penalty and Cesc Fabregas inspired their second goal. Chelsea continued their fine record against Arsenal with a hard-fought 2-0 Premier League win that was more than a little ill-tempered.

Game Played on 5th October, 2014. Kick Off at 13:20 (GMT). Half Time finished with scoreline 1:0  .Game ended after Full Time with scoreline 2:0

Current Standings:

Attendance of 41607 fans at the Stamford Bridge. The referee for this match was Martin Atkinson
This was a match in England - Premier League

Match Day 7, Season 2014/2015

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The Blues legend, Frank Lampard volleyed in James Milner's cross to pull the Premier League champions level after Andre Schurrle had broken the deadlock and Pablo Zabaleta had seen red

Frank Lampard came back to haunt Chelsea as 10-man Manchester City rallied to earn a share of the spoils after a dramatic encounter at the Etihad Stadium. The 36-year-old came on as a substitute to net his first goal for Manchester City - against his former club - to salvage a point for the Premier League champions

Frank Lampard admits he was “lost for words” after his first goal for Manchester City rescued a 1-1 draw against Chelsea.

"It’s a really difficult one,” Lampard told Sky Sports. 

“I’d be unprofessional if I didn’t come on and do my job. I tried to get back in the box, it was a great ball from Milly [James Milner]. I had 13 amazing years with Chelsea fans. So I’m mixed [sic] with it. Obviously, I’m really pleased the team I play for got a draw, so it a really hard one for me to answer.

“I’m a bit lost for words. I didn’t expect to come on and score like that. I come on and the Chelsea fans are signing and that’s emotional, then I’m playing for this club who have taken me in brilliantly as well. So I’m really stuck in the middle here.”

“I didn’t know what I wanted from today, it was a tough one. I suppose this can be seen as a happy medium at the end. It’s a long season, and these two teams, plus others will fight on, it’ll make for an interesting Premier League.”

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