Six international matches in five days will make Paris the capital of African football again as teams head to chilly European climes to prepare for January’s sweltering African Nations Cup finals.

To be accurate, most players aren’t going to notice a change in temperatures. They are there already. The vast majority of footballers chosen by Algeria, Angola, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Mali and Morocco — who will make the French capital their home over the next week — hail from teams scattered across Europe anyway.

Given this phenomenon, it makes sense to cut out the travel and pit African sides against one another in the stadiums in and around Paris. That there are impresarios willing to stage the matches, sort out travel, accommodation and other logistics and still pay an appearance fee, makes the decision even easier.

The showpiece game is Morocco’s clash with France at the Stade de France on Friday. It is a rare chance for a former north African colony to test their mettle against the old colonial power. There is much emotion in these games and French authorities will be mindful of having to prematurely call off the ‘friendly’ between France and Algeria at the same venue six years ago after fans of Algeria invaded the pitch.

What was striking about the match was that there were as many players born in France on Algeria’s side as there were in the French team. Morocco’s line-up on Friday should also have a distinctly Gallic feel about it. They will likely field most of the the French-born contingent of Marouane Chamakh, Michael Chretein, Jamal Alioui, Yacine Abdessadki, Moncef Zerka, Youssef Hadji, Houssine Kharja and Jaouad Zairi.

Former France captain and manager Henri Michel also goes up against his native country, and not for the first time either. In his previous spell in charge of Morocco he twice took charge against Les Blues, drawing 2-2 in Casablanca in 1998 and losing 1-0 in Marseille in early 1999.

Two years ago as coach of the Ivory Coast, Michel was beaten by France again, a 3-0 thumping in Montpellier.

The Ivorians are also in town to take on fellow 2006 World Cup finalists Angola in Melun on Saturday. Mali play Senegal the same day in the famous Colombes stadium, where the 1938 World Cup final was played. Next Tuesday Algeria and the Malians compete against each other at Rouen, just north of Paris, while Guinea take on the Angolans in the city. Morocco and Senegal play a second game in France against each other at Creteil on Wednesday, November 21.

Mark Gleeson, Johannesburg

PHOTO: Chamakh Marouane (R) celebrates his first goal for Morocco against Zimbabwe during their African Cup qualifier at the Mohamed V stadium in Casablanca June 2, 2007. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante