Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan

Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan
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
–2016 HJK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2023 Klubi 04 49 (11)
2018– HJK 44 (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 19 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 June 2020

Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan (born 25 January 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Veikkausliiga club HJK.[1][2]

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.[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]

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.[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.

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.[13][14]

Career statistics

As of 25 October 2024.[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] 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
2020 Kakkonen 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
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[b] 0 2 0
2019 Veikkausliiga 8 0 5 0 — 2[b] 0 15 0
2020 Veikkausliiga 0 0 0 0 — — 2 0
2021 Veikkausliiga 6 0 1 0 — 4[c] 0 11 0
2022 Veikkausliiga 0 0 0 0 2[d] 0 0 0 2 0
2023 Veikkausliiga 11 0 0 0 4[d] 0 11[c] 0 26 0
2024 Veikkausliiga 17 0 0 0 3[d] 0 3[b] 0 23 0
Total 44 0 6 0 9 0 20 0 74 0
RoPS (loan) 2019 Veikkausliiga 8 1 — — — 8 1
Inter Turku (loan) 2020 Veikkausliiga 19 1 6 0 — 1[e] 0 26 1
Lahti (loan) 2022 Veikkausliiga 23 1 6 0 0 0 — 29 1
Career total 143 14 24 0 9 0 21 0 197 14
  1. ^ Includes Suomen Cup
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ a b c Includes Finnish League Cup
  5. ^ Includes UEFA Europa League

Honours

HJK

References

  1. ^ "Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan lainalle Interiin". Aamuset [fi] (in Finnish). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  2. ^ HJK:n avausmaalin tehnyt nuorukainen hehkutti Klubin esitystä, Ilta-Sanomat, 20 January 2019
  3. ^ a b KKB, worldfootball.net
  4. ^ a b KKB, hjk.fi
  5. ^ Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan siirtyy loppukaudeksi Rovaniemen Palloseuraan, rops.fi, 2 August 2019
  6. ^ KEVIN KOUASSIVI-BENISSAN LAINALLE FC INTERIIN, fcinter.fi, 28 November 2019
  7. ^ "Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan FC Lahteen" (Press release) (in Finnish). Lahti. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. ^ kkb, hjk.fi
  9. ^ Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan jatkaa HJK:ssa, hjk.fi, 6 November 2023
  10. ^ MTV Urheilun tiedot: Huuhkajiin tähtäävä HJK-taituri sai kutsun toiseen maajoukkueeseen, MTV Oy/ mtvuutiset.fi, Eetu Ikola, 24 August 2023
  11. ^ "Huuhkajat nimetty syyskuun EM-karsintaotteluihin". Suomen Palloliitto (in Finnish). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Huuhkajat-debytantin pitkäaikainen haave toteutui". Suomen Palloliitto (in Finnish). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Yrittävätkö togolaiset saada sinua maajoukkueeseensa, Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan?". HJK Helsinki (in Finnish). 6 March 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  14. ^ S., Pacôme (15 August 2016). "Kévin Kouassivi-Bénissan, Togolais de naissance, international Finlandais des U17 d'adoption". Télégramme228 (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  15. ^ Tulospalvelu Palloliitto, KKB, Finnish FA/ Palloliitto