Daouda Kante (born July 16, 1978) is a

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

an retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a defender. He spent three seasons in Major League Soccer, and two in the Major Indoor Soccer League. Currently, he is the executive and technical director for Kansas Rush Soccer – Olathe.

Youth

A native of Mali, Kante attended

Saint Benedict's Preparatory School St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school has been accredit ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States, where he played on the school's 1996 state championship soccer team. In 1998, he entered Mercer Community College where he was a junior college All-American soccer player. In 1999, he transferred to

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

. He began his career with the Golden Panthers in midfield, but moved to defense in 2000. In February 2001, the

Miami Fusion The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...

selected Kanté in the 6th round (64th overall) of the

2001 MLS SuperDraft The 2001 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 5, 2001, at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 Generation Adidas is a joint ventur ...

. However, he chose not to sign with the Fusion in order to complete his degree. He graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in international business and international relations.

Professional

During his collegiate career, he played for the

Central Jersey Riptide Central Jersey Riptide were an American soccer team that played in Clark, New Jersey. They joined the USISL Pro League in 1996, but were relegated to the USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a s ...

and the Tampa Bay Hawks of the Premier Development League. In 2002,

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

drafted Kanté in the first round (11th overall) in the

2002 MLS SuperDraft The 2002 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 10, 2002 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. One month earlier, MLS had contracted two clubs: Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion. In conjunction with the contraction, the league conducted bo ...

, but he never played a first team game. Instead, D.C. sent him on loan to the

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. History ...

of the

USL D-3 Pro League The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer (t ...

at the end of April.''Hammerheads get loaner from MLS'' Morning Star (Wilmington, North Carolina) – Saturday, April 27, 2002 He played two games on loan to the

Hampton Roads Mariners Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick * H ...

on June 2002. United waived him on June 3, 2002 and on July 19, 2002 the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

signed Kanté as a transitional international. He played well for the Revolution that season, but injury and fitness issues led to him seeing little playing time over the next two seasons. The Revolution released him in 2004. In the fall of 2004, he signed with the St. Louis Steamers of Major Indoor Soccer League. He played only one game before being traded to the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

in exchange for a third round pick in the 2006 MISL Amateur Draft. He finished his career with the Blast in the 2005–2006 season.

References

External links

MLS Stats

Baltimore Blast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kante, Daouda 1978 births Living people Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players Central Jersey Riptide players D.C. United players Expatriate soccer players in the United States FIU Panthers men's soccer players Association football defenders Virginia Beach Mariners players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major League Soccer players Malian expatriate footballers Malian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Malian footballers New England Revolution players St. Louis Steamers (2003–2006 MISL) players Tampa Bay Hawks players USL League Two players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players USL Second Division players A-League (1995–2004) players D.C. United draft picks Miami Fusion draft picks People from Mopti Region MCCC Vikings men's soccer players Soccer players from New Jersey 21st-century Malian people