Abdoulaye Kanté

Abdoulaye Kanté (born 4 March 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Brooklyn FC in the USL Championship. After starting in his native France, Kanté has played in the lower divisions in Portugal, Belgium, and Finland before he moved to the United States in the winter 2026.

Career Kanté started his senior career with French club Bourges Foot 18 in 2018.

During the 2019–2020 season he was loaned out to Portuguese club Vila Real in the country’s third-tier.

In the first half of the 2020–21 season Kanté was in the La Louvière Centre squad in Belgium, before returning to Portugal and joining Leixões. In the 2021–22 season he played for the club's U23 youth team in the Liga Revelação.

Ekenäs IF In August 2022, Kanté signed with Ekenäs IF (EIF), playing in Ykkönen, the Finnish second-tier league. After the season, his contract was extended for one year. At the end of the next 2023 season, Kanté helped the club to win the promotion to Finland's premier division Veikkausliiga for the first time in 90 years, and only the second time in the club's entire history. He scored a brace and provided an assist in the decisive 3–1 away win against Turun Palloseura (TPS) on 2 October 2023, which secured the Ykkönen title and the promotion for EIF.

Ilves On 1 December 2023, a fellow Veikkausliiga side Ilves announced the signing of Kanté on a two-year deal on a free transfer. He debuted with his new club on 27 January 2024, in a Finnish League Cup win against Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS).

Ekenäs IF (loan) On 7 March 2024, Kanté was loaned back to EIF for a larger amount of guaranteed playing minutes. On 26 April, Kanté scored his first Veikkausliiga goal, in a 2–1 away defeat against Inter Turku. On 19 June, in a home match against IFK Mariehamn, Kanté was sent off on the first minute of the match, with his second red card of the season.

Return to Ilves On 23 July 2024, Kanté was called back to Ilves. During the latter part of the season, Kanté made five appearances in the league, and additionally two appearances in the UECL qualifiers. On 10 January 2025, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.

Lahti On 13 February 2025, Kanté signed with Lahti in Finnish second-tier Ykkösliiga. On 25 May, Kanté scored his first goal in Ykkösliiga, the winning goal in a 5–3 home win over Käpylän Pallo.

Brooklyn FC On 26 February 2026, Brooklyn FC announced they had signed Kanté to a contract for the 2026 USL Championship season.

Personal life Born in France, Kanté is of Malian descent.

Career statistics

Honours Ekenäs IF Ykkönen: 2023 Ilves Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2024