| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (2000-03-04)4 March 2000 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Pontoise, France[1] | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lahti | ||
| Number | 95 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2017–2019 | Bourges | ||
| 2021–2022 | Leixões U23 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | Bourges | 15 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | →Vila Real (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | La Louvière Centre | 1 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | EIF | 36 | (7) |
| 2024 | Ilves | 5 | (0) |
| 2024 | Ilves II | 1 | (1) |
| 2024 | →EIF (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2025– | Lahti | 22 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 November 2025 | |||
Abdoulaye Kanté (born 4 March 2000) is a French professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forLahti inYkkösliiga. Born inFrance, Kanté is ofMalian descent. After starting in his native France, Kanté has played in the lower divisions inPortugal andBelgium, before he moved toFinland in the summer 2022.
Kanté started his senior career with French clubBourges Foot 18 in 2018.
During the 2019–2020 season he was loaned out to Portuguese clubVila Real in the country’s third-tier.[2]
In the first half of the 2020–21 season Kanté was in theLa Louvière Centre squad inBelgium, before returning to Portugal and joiningLeixões. In the 2021–22 season he played for the club's U23 youth team in theLiga Revelação.[3]
In August 2022, Kanté signed withEkenäs IF (EIF), playing inYkkönen, the Finnish second-tier league. After the season, his contract was extended for one year.[4] At the end of the next2023 season, Kanté helped the club to win the promotion to Finland's premier divisionVeikkausliiga for the first time in 90 years, and only the second time in the club's entire history.[5][6] He scored a brace and provided an assist in the decisive 3–1 away win againstTurun Palloseura (TPS) on 2 October 2023, which secured the Ykkönen title and the promotion for EIF.[7]
On 1 December 2023, a fellow Veikkausliiga sideIlves announced the signing of Kanté on a two-year deal on a free transfer.[8] He debuted with his new club on 27 January 2024, in aFinnish League Cup win againstKuopion Palloseura (KuPS).[9]
On 7 March 2024, Kanté was loaned back toEIF for a larger amount of guaranteed playing minutes.[10][11] On 26 April, Kanté scored his firstVeikkausliiga goal, in a 2–1 away defeat againstInter Turku.[12] On 19 June, in a home match againstIFK Mariehamn, Kanté was sent off on the first minute of the match, with his second red card of the season.[13]
On 23 July 2024, Kanté was called back to Ilves.[14] During the latter part of the season, Kanté made five appearances in the league, and additionally two appearances in theUECL qualifiers. On 10 January 2025, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.[15]
On 13 February 2025, Kanté signed withLahti in Finnish second-tierYkkösliiga.[16] On 25 May, Kanté scored his first goal in Ykkösliiga, the winning goal in a 5–3 home win overKäpylän Pallo.[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bourges | 2018–19 | National 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Vila Real (loan) | 2019–20 | Campeonato de Portugal | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| La Louvière Centre | 2020–21 | Belgian Division 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Leixões | 2021–22 | Liga Portugal 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ekenäs IF | 2022 | Ykkönen | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | Ykkönen | 26 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 33 | 9 | ||
| Total | 36 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 9 | ||
| Ilves | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 5 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Ilves II | 2024 | Kakkonen | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| Ekenäs IF (loan) | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| Lahti | 2025 | Ykkösliiga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 6 | 2 | |
| Career total | 93 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 112 | 13 | ||
Ekenäs IF
Ilves