Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan

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

Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999
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 37 (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 16 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 June 2020

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. 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 16 June 2024[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Other Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2016 Kakkonen 1000——10
2017 Kakkonen 20320——223
2018 Ykkönen 23740——277
2019 Kakkonen 2100——21
2020 Kakkonen 0000——00
2021 Ykkönen 2000——20
2023 Kakkonen 1000——10
Total 49116000005511
HJK Helsinki 2018 Veikkausliiga 2000—0[lower-alpha 2]020
2019 Veikkausliiga 8050—2[lower-alpha 2]0150
2020 Veikkausliiga 0000——20
2021 Veikkausliiga 6010—4[lower-alpha 3]0110
2022 Veikkausliiga 00002[lower-alpha 4]00020
2023 Veikkausliiga 110004[lower-alpha 4]011[lower-alpha 3]0260
2024 Veikkausliiga 100003[lower-alpha 4]000130
Total 3706090170640
RoPS (loan) 2019 Veikkausliiga 81———81
Inter Turku (loan) 2020 Veikkausliiga 19160—1[lower-alpha 5]0261
Lahti (loan) 2022 Veikkausliiga 2316000—291
Career total 136142409018018714
  1. Includes Suomen Cup
  2. Includes UEFA Champions League
  3. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. Includes Finnish League Cup
  5. Includes UEFA Europa League

Honours

HJK

References
  1. "Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan lainalle Interiin". Aamuset (in Finnish). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  2. HJK:n avausmaalin tehnyt nuorukainen hehkutti Klubin esitystä, Ilta-Sanomat, 20 January 2019
  3. KKB, worldfootball.net
  4. 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
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