Abdoulaye Kanté

Abdoulaye Kanté (born 4 March 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club Ekenäs IF, on loan from Ilves. Born in France, Kanté is of Malian descent. After starting in his native France, Kanté has played in the lower divisions in Portugal and Belgium, before he moved to Finland in the summer 2022.

Club 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 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. In 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 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 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 2024, Kanté scored his first Veikkausliiga goal, in a 2–1 away defeat against Inter Turku. On 19 June 2024 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.

Ekenäs IF

 * Ykkönen: 2023