Kelly Youga jokingly calls himself the "Beckham of Bangui".

City's new left back hails from the capital of the Central African Republic and is the only professional football export from a country currently ranked 180th in the world by FIFA - below the likes of the Philippines and Afghanistan.

So Youga's short-term stay with the Bantams is attracting loads of interest back home.

"The people love football but the country doesn't have the money to put into the game," said Youga. "We have only ten teams and the standard is very low. I'm the most famous player there and people at home watch how I get on. I'm like the David Beckham for them!

"We've got an international team but it's very hard to qualify for the African Cup. We have to play against teams like Cameroon and Nigeria, who have got everything.

"Most of the players from the other teams play in England in the Premiership or in France so it is very hard for us. Nobody in the Central Africa Republic is big outside their country."

Youga, who rejected the chance to play internationally at 16, has been with Charlton for 18 months and hopes to catch the eye of his parent club during his City spell.

With Gillingham only 30 miles away from The Valley, he is keen to impress tomorrow.

"I hope the manager has someone watching me because I'm still one of his players. I'm ready to play now and that's why I wanted to go on loan.

"Last year they pushed me to go to Bristol City when I was still adapting to England but this time I am ready to play and learn."

Youga joined Charlton from Lyon where he had come through the system from the age of ten but found his first-team route blocked by current French international Eric Abidal and under-21 regular Jeremy Berthod.

He is determined to crack it in England but admitted his City debut against Nottingham Forest last week was a new experience.

Youga added: "It was the first time I had played in a big stadium in front of 10,000 people. I was a little nervous before the start but I enjoyed it."

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