Kelechi Iheanacho has called on all players from participating teams at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations to show the rest of the world how great football on the continent is.

The build-up to the tournament, which kicks off on January 9, will see a number of teams in the Premier League and other top European leagues lose key players in the middle of the domestic season.

It’s led to some questions about whether players will carry on playing for their club instead of their country.

Iheanacho, who’s due to represent Nigeria in Cameroon, believes this is an opportunity for all the nations to show the world what they can do.

He told talkSPORT: “We need to keep doing what we’re doing and do our best and keep showing the world that Africa deserves more and there are more opportunities for good footballers over there.

“Our competition needs to be looked at as well but I think we need to prove with our play that our competition is underrated by doing extraordinary things on the pitch, by scoring goals, by performing really well so when we do that it will speak for itself.”