The cosmopolitan nature of the Premier League is one major reason why it has maintained such incredible popularity since its inception back in 1992.
Players from 109 different nations have featured in England's top-flight since then, helping it maintain an appeal from London to Lagos, Manchester to Melbourne.
Yet despite this, it will come as a surprise to many that it is now 20 years since the last all-English starting line-up was fielded in a Premier League fixture.
It was on February 27, 1999 that Aston Villa manager John Gregory selected 11 English players for a match against their Midlands rivals Coventry City at Villa Park.
And, according to an Opta analysis, two decades have now passed without another all-English team in the Premier League.
For the record, the eleven sent out by Gregory that day was: Michael Oakes, Steve Watson, Gareth Southgate, Dion Dublin, Simon Grayson, Ricardo Scimeca, Alan Wright, Lee Hendrie, Paul Merson, Ian Taylor and Julian Joachim.
And, as it happens, the three substitutes Villa sent on during that match were also English - Mark Draper, Gareth Barry and Stan Collymore.
It would be wrong to pass judgement on the quality of English footballers at that time compared to their foreign counterparts, but Villa lost to Coventry 4-1 that day.
Thousands and thousands of Premier League fixtures have been completed since without an all-English line-up.
We came close in May 2006 when Middlesbrough played Fulham in what turned out to be Steve McClaren's penultimate match in charge before becoming England manager.
McClaren appeared to field a full English starting XI that day but James Morrison was subsequently capped by Scotland and so the match was annulled from this particular record.
That game in Birmingham on February 27, 1999 proved something of a watershed. Before that, there had been 55 all-English teams in the competition in some 2,792 matches.
Aston Villa had been responsible for 19 of those, with Newcastle United the next highest with 14.
It also proved a turning point in that season 1998-99 was the first in which the percentage of English players used in the Premier League dropped below 50 per cent to 48.2 per cent.
Indeed, just 238 days after that Coventry match, a Wimbledon side managed by Egil Olsen, a Norwegian, came to Villa Park and fielded a team containing no English players for the first time in the competition's history.
Since then, the influx of talent from all over the world has increased, undoubtedly raising standards and levels of entertainment.
The likes of Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Didier Drogba and David de Gea have all graced what football hierarchy love to call 'the best league in the world.'
This anniversary is pertinent at a time when Brexit threatens to restrict the ease with which clubs can sign the best overseas talent, especially from European countries.
Work permits for international stars could become more difficult to obtain, meaning clubs will have little option but to return the focus to nurturing homegrown talent.
We may well, one day in the future, see another group of 11 Englishmen as Aston Villa sent out that day 20 years ago.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
THE MANAGER
John Gregory
This was to prove a topsy-turvy season for Gregory and his Aston Villa side, who led the Premier League until the mid-point of the season before falling away to a sixth-place finish.
But in the grand scheme of things, these were good times for Villa, who would reach the FA Cup final in 2000 and regularly qualified for European competition around this time.
Gregory's career took a number of unexpected twists and turns following his departure from Villa in 2002.
After managing Derby, there was a three year gap to his next assignment, at QPR, and then what could be described as a rich and varied CV taking in Israeli sides Maccabi Ahi Nazareth and Ashdod, Kazakh team Kairat and Crawley Town.
Since 2017, he has been the manager of Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League.
THE PLAYERS
Michael Oakes
Villa's goalkeeper that day played 61 times for the club having come through their youth ranks. He would later play with greater regularity across the Midlands at Wolves and ended his career with Cardiff. Oakes is now the goalkeeping coach at Walsall.
Steve Watson
The right-back had been a mainstay in the Newcastle United 'Entertainers' of the mid-1990s before arriving at Villa for £4m in October 1998. He only made 54 appearances for them before moving to Everton and later played for West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday. Watson is now the manager of National League North club York City.
Gareth Southgate
Southgate was an established England international centre-half and had been a mainstay in the Villa side since 1995, when he'd signed from Crystal Palace. Played 243 times for the club before spending five seasons with Middlesbrough. The current manager of England.
Simon Grayson
The defender had played for Leeds United and Leicester City before arriving at Villa in 1997. Grayson would make 49 Premier League appearances for the club in two years there before moving on to Blackburn. He became a manager after retirement and had been in charge of Blackpool, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End, Sunderland and Bradford.
Alan Wright
The defender spent eight years with Villa having signed from Blackburn Rovers for £1m in February 1995. He was part of the side that beat Leeds United in the League Cup final of 1996 and helped them to the FA Cup final in 2000. In all, he made 260 league appearances for the club. Managed in non-league with Northwich Victoria and Southport after hanging up his boots.
Riccardo Scimeca
Came through Villa's youth system and played 88 times for the club during his four seasons in the first-team. Subsequently played for Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, West Brom and Cardiff.
Ian Taylor
The midfielder was best known for his time at Aston Villa, playing 273 times for the club he supported as a boy between 1994 and 2003, helping them win the League Cup in 1996. After retirement, Taylor created his own brand of headphones called iT7 Audio and he is also a Villa club ambassador.
Paul Merson
Merson described the four years he spent at Villa as the best period of his career even though he'd won a succession of trophies with Arsenal beforehand. Topped 100 league outings for the club and was their captain during his latter seasons there. Is now a well-known television pundit on Sky Sports.
Lee Hendrie
Birmingham-born Hendrie first joined the club in 1993 and would play some 308 times for Villa over the course of 12 seasons, scoring 32 goals. He was capped for England for the first and only time against the Czech Republic in November 1998. He now runs a football academy.
Dion Dublin
The striker had already turned out for Cambridge United, Manchester United and Coventry before coming to Villa in a £5.75m move in 1998. He had been the league's joint top scorer with Michael Owen and Chris Sutton the previous season. Dublin played for Villa for four years, racking up 155 league appearances. He is now a television pundit and presents the BBC series Homes Under the Hammer. He also invented a musical instrument called The Dube.
Julian Joachim
The striker scored 39 Premier League goals for Villa during five years there following his move from Leicester City in 1996. He would later play for Coventry, Leeds and then a host of non-league clubs. He joined Notts Senior League side Aslockton & Orston last year.
