sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Seko Mohamed Fofana (born 7 May 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lens. Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.

Seko Fofana

Fofana playing for Lens in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Seko Mohamed Fofana[1]
Date of birth	(1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 27)
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Lens
Number	8
Youth career
2004–2010	Paris FC
2010–2013	Lorient
2013–2014	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	Manchester City	0	(0)
2014–2015	→ Fulham (loan)	25	(1)
2015–2016	→ Bastia (loan)	32	(1)
2016–2020	Udinese	112	(13)
2020–	Lens	74	(12)
National team‡
2010–2011	France U16	12	(7)
2011–2012	France U17	11	(2)
2012–2013	France U18	7	(2)
2013	France U19	3	(1)
2017–	Ivory Coast	8	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:44, 18 September 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:23, 27 September 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Manchester City

Born in Paris, France, Fofana began his youth career at Paris FC when he was nine and stayed there for six years before joining Lorient.[2] After two years at Lorient,[2] he moved to England when he joined Premier League side Manchester City in 2013 and was immediately sent to the development squad.[3]

Fofana began to be a regular in the under-18s in the 2013–14 season, making 20 appearances and scoring 5 goals in the league and playing 7 times scoring twice in the club's UEFA Youth League campaign against CSKA Moscow[4] and Benfica Juniors.[5] During Manchester City's U21 friendly match against HNK Rijeka, he was racially abused by one of the opposition player just before half-time. As a result, players from Manchester City's U21 squad walked off the pitch, prompting the match to be cancelled.[6] After the match, Manager Patrick Vieira praised the action of the players to walk out.[7]

Fulham (loan)

On 27 November 2014, Fofana signed for Championship side Fulham on loan until 31 January 2015.[8] He made his Fulham debut two days later, where he came on as a substitute for Emerson Hyndman in the 63rd minute, in a 2–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.[9] His form and performance convinced Fulham to extend the loan spell until the end of the season.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 March 2015 to secure a 2–0 win away to Huddersfield Town.[11] Having established himself under the management of Kit Symons,[12] Fofana went on to make 25 appearances scoring once before returning to his parent club.

Bastia (loan)

After making two appearances for City during their pre-season tour in Australia (playing the second half of a 2–0 win over Adelaide United,[13] and coming on as a late substitute in Manchester City's 1–0 win over Melbourne City),[14] the Premier League club agreed to send Fofana out on loan again to gain further experience. The Frenchman subsequently returned to his native France, to join Bastia on a season-long loan on 29 July 2015.[15] He made his Ligue 1 debut in the opening game of the season 10 days later, on 8 August 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2−1 win at home to Rennes.[16] He then scored his first goal on 12 December 2015, in a 1–1 draw against Troyes,[17] followed up by assisting in the next game on 19 December 2015, in a 2–0 win over Reims.[18] In a 1–0 win over Montpellier on 16 January 2016, Fofana received a straight red card in the 65th minutes.[19] After the match, he was given a four match ban[20] and Fofana, himself, apologised for his action.[21] In total, he made 32 appearances and scoring once for Bastia.

Udinese

After three years at Manchester City, Fofana joined Serie A side Udinese, signing a five-year deal for worth £2.5 million.[22] In addition, the move included a possible €2 million bonus and Bastia receiving 15% of the total compensation, up to €700K.[23] Fofana made his Udinese debut in the opening game of the season playing 79 minutes before being substituted, in a 4–0 loss against Roma.[24]

Lens

On 18 August 2020, Fofana signed a four-year contract with RC Lens.[25] After a string of good performances, he was awarded the Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September 2021. In May 2022, Fofana won the Prix Marc-Vivien Foé as the best African player in France's top flight for the 2021–22 campaign, following a season in which he scored eight goals in 37 appearances.[26]

International career

Fofana was eligible to play for France and Ivory Coast, as his parents come from there.[27] Fofana previously represented France U16, France U17, France U18 and France U19. On 3 April 2017, Fofana chose to represent the Ivory Coast, the country of his parents.[28]

Fofana made his debut for Ivory Coast in a 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification loss to Morocco on 11 November 2017.[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 September 2022[30]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Fulham (loan)	2014–15	Championship	21	1	4	0	—		25	1
Bastia (loan)	2015–16	Ligue 1	32	1	1	0	—		33	1
Udinese	2016–17	Serie A	22	5	1	0	—		23	5
	2017–18	Serie A	27	3	2	0	—		29	3
	2018–19	Serie A	31	2	1	0	—		32	2
	2019–20	Serie A	32	3	3	0	—		35	3
	Total		112	13	7	0	—		119	13
Lens	2020–21	Ligue 1	30	2	2	0	—		32	2
	2021–22	Ligue 1	38	8	3	2	—		41	10
	2022–23	Ligue 1	6	2	0	0	—		6	2
	Total		74	12	5	2	—		79	14
Career total			239	27	17	2	0	0	256	29

International

Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fofana goal.

List of international goals scored by Seko Fofana[31]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 September 2019	Stade Robert Diochon, Rouen, France	Tunisia	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2	24 September 2022		Togo	1–0	2–1
3	27 September 2022	Stade de la Licorne, Amiens, France	Guinea	3–0	3–1

Honours

Individual

• UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2021–22[32]
• Prix Marc-Vivien Foé: 2021–22[26]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2021

References

External links

• Seko Fofana at Soccerbase
• Seko Fofana at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Seko Fofana at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)

На других языках

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[de] Seko Fofana

Seko Mohamed Fofana (* 7. Mai 1995 in Paris) ist ein ivorisch-französischer Fußballspieler, der beim RC Lens spielt.

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- [en] Seko Fofana

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[es] Seko Fofana

Seko Fofana (París, Francia, 7 de mayo de 1995) es un futbolista francés nacionalizado marfileño. Juega de centrocampista y su club actual es el R. C. Lens que disputa la Ligue 1 de Francia.[1]

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[fr] Seko Fofana

Seko Fofana, né le 7 mai 1995 à Paris, est un footballeur international ivoirien qui évolue au poste de milieu de terrain au RC Lens.

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[it] Seko Fofana

Seko Mohamed Fofana (Parigi, 7 maggio 1995) è un calciatore ivoriano con cittadinanza francese, centrocampista del Lens e della nazionale ivoriana.

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[ru] Фофана, Секо

Секо Мохамед Фофана (фр. Seko Mohamed Fofana; 7 мая 1995 года, Париж, Франция) — ивуарийский и французский футболист, полузащитник клуба «Ланс».

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