Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan

Kevin Daté Kouassivi-Benissan (born 25 January 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for VPS in the Veikkausliiga.

Club career HJK Helsinki Kouassivi-Benissan grew up in Helsinki, and spent his entire junior career with HJK Helsinki. He represented HJK youth in 2016–17 UEFA Youth League. After playing for the club's reserve team Klubi 04 since 2016 in second-tier Ykkönen and third-tier Kakkonen, he made his Veikkausliiga debut with the first team on 14 July 2018, at age 19, against TPS.

Loans to Inter Turku, RoPS and Lahti On 2 August 2019, Kouassivi-Benissan joined RoPS on loan for the rest of the 2019 season.

On 28 November 2019, it was announced that Kouassivi-Benissan was loaned out to Inter Turku for the 2020 season. He would reunite with former HJK coach José Riveiro.

In the 2021 season, he made only six appearances in the league for HJK, as injuries limited his playing time throughout the season. He played in 23 league matches during the season, scoring one goal.

Return to HJK After spending three seasons on loan in three different Veikkausliiga teams, Kouassivi-Benissan started the 2023 season in HJK squad. During the season, he made a breakthrough as he recorded five assists in a span of nine league matches. He also made 11 appearances for HJK in the club's 2023–24 European campaign, in which HJK qualified to the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.

Loan to Košice On 21 January 2025, Kouassivi-Benissan was loaned out to Slovak First League club Košice for the remainder of the season. Vaasan Palloseura After his contract with HJK expired at the end of 2025, Kouassivi-Benissan signed with VPS ahead of the 2026 season.

International career Kouassivi-Benissan has represented Finland at youth international levels.

On 24 August 2023, it was reported in Finnish media that Kouassivi-Benissan had considered a possibility to represent Togo at senior international level, after receiving numerous contacts from Togolese Football Federation.

On 30 August 2023, he received his first call-up to the Finland senior national team by head coach Markku Kanerva, for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Denmark, but remained an unused substitute.

Personal life Kouassivi-Benissan was born in Finland to Finnish mother and Togolese father, and was raised in Pikku Huopalahti, Helsinki. In an interview in the early 2022, Kouassivi-Benissan said he doesn't have a Togolese passport and hasn't visited the country. Besides his native languages Finnish and English, he speaks French. He attended the English school in Meilahti.

Career statistics

Honours HJK Veikkausliiga: 2018, 2021, 2023 Finnish Cup: 2025 Finnish League Cup: 2023