Billy Ketkeophomphone

Billy Ketkeophomphone ( ; born 24 March 1990 ) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward or an attacking midfielder. Born in France to Laotian refugee parents, he played for the Laos national team at international level.

Club career Early career Born in Champigny-sur-Marne, Ketkeophomphone began his career with Racing Paris, before joining the prestigious Clairefontaine academy in 2003. After three years, he left the club to sign for Strasbourg. In summer 2008, he was promoted to the first team. He made his debut against Bastia on 1 December 2009 in the Championnat National playing 44 minutes.

On 20 May 2011, he signed a five-year contract with Swiss Super League side Sion. He was released on 31 January 2012 and subsequently returned to France to sign a four-year deal with Tours.

Angers On 16 June 2015, Ketkeophomphone signed with Angers, who had just been promoted to Ligue 1. He was the first footballer of Southeast Asian descent to have played in the top division of French football. On 4 October, he scored his first goal for Angers against Bastia. He played 38 games that season, scoring 6 goals.

In his second season, he sustained a knee injury, restricting him to only five games, but still managed to score a goal.

Auxerre On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, Ketkeophomphone moved down a division and joined Auxerre. He made his debut on 14 September 2018 in a match against Clermont Foot.

Cholet On 20 November 2019, Ketkeophomphone joined Championnat National side Cholet. He made his debut and scored first goal for Cholet on 22 November 2019 in a match against Red Star.

Dunkerque On 1 July 2020, Ketkeophomphone joined Ligue 2 side Dunkerque on a two-year deal. He made his debut on 22 August 2020 in a match against Toulouse. On 29 August 2020, Ketkeophomphone scored his first goal for Dunkerque in the 39th minute against Clermont Foot. He left the club in January 2022.

Sri Pahang On 28 January 2022, Ketkeophomphone signed with Malaysian club Sri Pahang. He made his debut on 6 April 2022 in a match against Kedah Darul Aman. He was released by the club only after 4 months joining.

International career Born to Laotian refugee parents who fled to France in the 1980s, Ketkeophomphone has expressed interest in representing Laos internationally. In 2021, he was called up to the Laotian squad for the 2020 AFF Championship. Ketkeophomphone made his debut for Laos on 6 December 2021 in the AFF Cup against Vietnam. He played all five matches in tournament, scoring his only goal in the 2–2 draw against Myanmar, the last match before Laos’ elimination from the group stage.

Career statistics International