Kevin_Kouassivi-Benissan
Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan
Finnish footballer (born 1999)
Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan (born 25 January 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Veikkausliiga club HJK.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Tornio, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | HJK | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–2016 | HJK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2023 | Klubi 04 | 49 | (11) |
| 2018– | HJK | 35 | (0) |
| 2019 | → RoPS (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2020 | → Inter Turku (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2022 | → Lahti (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Finland U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | Finland U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | Finland U21 | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 June 2020 | |||
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.[3] 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.[4]
Loans
On 2 August 2019, Kouassivi-Benissan joined RoPS on loan for the rest of the 2019 season.[5]
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.[6]
In the 2021 season, he made only six appearances in the league for HJK, as injuries limited his playing time throughout the season.[4]
On 17 March 2022, Kouassivi-Benissan joined Lahti on loan for the 2022 season.[7] He played in 23 league matches during the season.
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.[8] 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.[3] On 6 November 2023, Kouassivi-Benissan extended his contract with HJK, signing a new two-year deal until the end of 2025.[9]
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.[10]
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,[11][12] but remained an unused substitute.
Kouassivi-Benissan was born in Finland to Finnish mother and Togolese father, and was raised in Pikku Huopalahti. 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.[13][14]
- As of 27 May 2024[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Other | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Klubi 04 | 2016 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Kakkonen | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 3 | |||
| 2018 | Ykkönen | 23 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 7 | |||
| 2019 | Kakkonen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| 2021 | Ykkönen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 11 | ||
| HJK Helsinki | 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 11[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 64 | 0 | ||
| RoPS (loan) | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Inter Turku (loan) | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 19 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| Lahti (loan) | 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |
| Career total | 134 | 14 | 24 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 185 | 14 | ||
- Includes Suomen Cup
- Includes UEFA Champions League
- Includes Finnish League Cup
- Includes UEFA Europa League
HJK
- Veikkausliiga: 2018, 2021, 2023
- Finnish League Cup: 2023
- "Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan lainalle Interiin". Aamuset [fi] (in Finnish). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- HJK:n avausmaalin tehnyt nuorukainen hehkutti Klubin esitystä, Ilta-Sanomat, 20 January 2019
- Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan siirtyy loppukaudeksi Rovaniemen Palloseuraan, rops.fi, 2 August 2019
- KEVIN KOUASSIVI-BENISSAN LAINALLE FC INTERIIN, fcinter.fi, 28 November 2019
- "Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan FC Lahteen" (Press release) (in Finnish). Lahti. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan jatkaa HJK:ssa, hjk.fi, 6 November 2023
- MTV Urheilun tiedot: Huuhkajiin tähtäävä HJK-taituri sai kutsun toiseen maajoukkueeseen, MTV Oy/ mtvuutiset.fi, Eetu Ikola, 24 August 2023
- "Huuhkajat nimetty syyskuun EM-karsintaotteluihin". Suomen Palloliitto (in Finnish). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- "Huuhkajat-debytantin pitkäaikainen haave toteutui". Suomen Palloliitto (in Finnish). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- "Yrittävätkö togolaiset saada sinua maajoukkueeseensa, Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan?". HJK Helsinki (in Finnish). 6 March 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- S., Pacôme (15 August 2016). "Kévin Kouassivi-Bénissan, Togolais de naissance, international Finlandais des U17 d'adoption". Télégramme228 (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- Tulospalvelu Palloliitto, KKB, Finnish FA/ Palloliitto
- Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan at Soccerway