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Robson Sharuko in CAIRO, Egypt
A WELSH community, with a population of about just about 8 000, isn’t the kind of settlement one could expect to be having an interest in the AFCON finals, let alone picking a certain team to support.

But the people of Cefn Mawr will be doing just that and, crucially, have a team to back at this Nations Cup finals – Zimbabwe Warriors.

Why?

Because one of their own, Alec Mudimu, who plays for the local side Cefn Druids in the Welsh Premiership, will be featuring for the Warriors here with Zimbabwe opening the Nations Cup tournament with a date against hosts Egypt tonight.

The community of Cefn is made up of the Welsh villages of Cefn Mawr, Cefn-bychan, Accrefair, Penybryn, Newbridge, Plasmadoc and Rhosymedre and is settled in the northern slopes of the Dee Valley.

This year marks the 10th anniversary after Cefn Druids were renamed in the summer of 2009 as the Elements Cefn Druids before another change of name came the following year to just Cefn Druids.

But the club, before all the changes that have happened all the years, also can lay claim to be the oldest existing football side in Wales, and the oldest outside England, which then explains why they are nicknamed ‘’The Ancients.’’

Mudimu, who has become one of the two regular centrebacks for the Warriors, is one of 48 British-based players who will grace the AFCON finals.

‘’There will be plenty of players representing clubs not usually associated with major international tournaments,’’ the BBC Sport noted in a report this week.

‘’Uganda’s Bevis Mugabe and Benin’s Sessi D’Almeida were both relegated from the English Football League with Yeovil this season and released on free transfers.

‘’Zimbabwe midfielder Alec Mudimu is a Welsh Premier League player with Cefn Druids and uncapped Tanzania striker Adi Yussuf played for Solihull Moors in the National League this season before moving to Blackpool.’’

Mudimu’s Warriors teammate, Tendai Darikwa, is also part of that British Brigade that has descended here for the tournament with 26, led of course by Mohamed Salah, belonging to English Premiership sides, as of last season.

Darikwa told The Herald this week he expects strong support for the Warriors from the Nottingham community because he plays for the local club, two-time European champions, Nottingham Forest.

BRITISH-BASED PLAYERS AT AFCON 2019

Egypt: Ahmed Elmohamady (Aston Villa), Ahmed Hegazi (West Brom), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Uganda: Bevis Mugabi (Yeovil Town)

DR Congo: Arthur Masuaku (West Ham), Jacques Maghoma (Birmingham), Youssouf Mulumbu (Celtic), Britt Assombalanga (Middlesbrough), Yannick Bolasie (Everton)

Zimbabwe: Alec Mudimu (Cefn Druids), Tendai Darikwa (Nottingham Forest)

Nigeria: Leon Balogun (Brighton), John Mikel Obi (Middlesbrough), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester), Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke), Alexander Iwobi (Arsenal), Henry Onyekuru (Everton)

Guinea: Julian Jeanvier (Brentford), Ibrahima Cisse (Fulham), Naby Keita (Liverpool)

Burundi: Saido Berahino (Stoke)

Senegal: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

Algeria: Adlene Guedioura (Nottingham Forest), Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

Kenya: Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur)

Tanzania: Abdi Yussuf Mussa (Blackpool)

South Africa: Kamohelo Mokotjo (Brentford)

Morocco: Romain Saiss (Wolves)

Ivory Coast: Serge Aurier (Tottenham), Jean-Michael Seri (Fulham), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa)

Namibia: Ryan Nyambe (Blackburn)

Mali: Molla Wague (Nottingham Forest), Lassana Coulibaly (Rangers)

Ghana: Andy Yiadom (Reading), Christian Atsu (Newcastle), Thomas Agyepong (Manchester City), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace)

Cameroon: Gaetan Bong (Brighton), Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Fulham), Arnaud Djoum (Hearts)

Benin: Sessi D’Almeida (Yeovil), Steve Mounie (Huddersfield)

Guinea-Bissau: Marcelo Djalo (Fulham) – Statistics on the players compiled by BBC Sport