Bernard François Dassise Zoko (born 13 September 1983), known as François Zoko, is an Ivorian professional

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 le ...

who is player-coach for Midland Football League Premier Division side

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Daloa Daloa is a city in western Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both the Sassandra-Marahoué District and the Haut-Sassandra Region. It is also the seat of and a sub-prefectures of Ivory Coast, sub-prefecture of Daloa Department. Daloa is also a Commune ...

, Zoko began his career at youth team C.O. Savigny-sur-Orge and signed in 2000 for AS Nancy. He played four years at Nancy, making 70 appearances and scoring 8 goals, before signing in summer 2004 for Stade Lavallois. Zoko then moved to

R.A.E.C. Mons R.A.E.C. Mons may refer to one of two Belgian football clubs A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, ...

in 2006, and played two seasons in the Jupiler League. After 55 games and scoring 11 goals, Zoko was contacted by several teams in the Jupiler League, but decided to join the

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

club for a new challenge in the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

. Throughout his career, Zoko has been used as a striker or winger. Whilst at Hacettepe Spor, Zoko was also used as a central midfielder. There were many off field problems at Hacettepe, which meant that Zoko finally left and joined his former R.A.E.C Mons manager at

KV Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders in Belgium. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and has the matricule No. 31. History In 1911, an ...

in January in order to play football again. At Oostende, Zoko played 11 games, scoring 4 goals and making 5 assists.

Carlisle United

Zoko was on trial with League One side

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

ahead of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, scoring in a 4–1 pre-season friendly victory against Kendal Town. After impressing during a two-week trial, he signed a permanent one-year contract with the club in July 2010. Zoko made his debut for Carlisle in the club's first game of the 2010–11 season, playing 75 minutes in Carlisle's 2–0 win against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

. He received a standing ovation from the Carlisle United supporters when he was substituted, and manager Greg Abbott said there's "more to come" from Zoko. Zoko had a very good start to life in English football becoming a crowd and team favourite, and under 10 matches into his season, he was offered a new contract in order to keep Championship and Premiership teams away. He was linked to Wigan, Swansea and Burnley. In June 2012, Zoko refused a new contract from Carlisle United stating his desire to play in the Championship. He scored 19 goals in 88 league appearances. In July 2012, it was reported that Sheffield United and

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

were interested in signing the

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

following his release from Carlisle United.

Notts County

On 3 August 2012, Zoko signed a two-year deal with Notts County. He made his competitive debut in the league against

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

. He also scored his first goal for the club as they ran out 2–1 winners. He scored his second goal for the club just three days later against

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

in a 2–0 win. Zoko came of the bench to score his fourth goal for Notts County, in a 4–0 victory over his old team

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. He picked up the "Man of the Match" award in a 4–1 victory over

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, after coming of the bench to score two goals. On 29 August 2013, Zoko left Notts County by mutual consent.

Stevenage

Following his departure from Notts County, Zoko signed a short-term deal with League One side

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

on 4 October, on a contract lasting until January 2014. He made a goalscoring debut for the club four days after signing, poking in Michael Doughty's shot to restore parity in an eventual 2–1 home win over Milton Keynes Dons in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

. In Stevenage's next match, Zoko scored twice in a 2–1 victory over

Broadhall Way Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage (formerly Stevenage Borough and Stevenage Town) since the early 1960s, an ...

, the club's first home league win of the season. He made it four goals in his first three games when he scored a late consolation strike in Stevenage's 2–1 loss at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

on 19 October. Three weeks later, he netted again, this time scoring twice in Stevenage's 2–1 win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

on 9 November, taking his seasonal goal tally to six. Three days later, Zoko scored in a 3–2 win over Leyton Orient in the Football League Trophy; his goal coming in just the third minute when he connected with

Luke Freeman Luke Anthony Freeman (born 22 March 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Luton Town. He can play both as a midfielder or as a winger. Freeman played at Charlton Athletic, before joining Gillingham at t ...

's inswinging cross. He took his goal tally for the season to ten when he scored in three consecutive matches towards the end of November and start of December, scoring in league defeats to Gillingham and Shrewsbury Town, before netting a headed goal in a 4–0 win over Stourbridge in the FA Cup Second Round. Zoko ended the year by scoring a late consolation strike in Stevenage's 4–1 loss away at

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, curling the ball into the goal with a first-time finish after good work from

. He scored in the club's first game of 2014, the final game before Zoko's short-term contract was set to expire, a 3–2 win away at Championship side Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup. Just three days later, on 7 January 2014, Zoko signed a contract to remain at Stevenage for the rest of the 2013–14 season. In 40 appearances for Stevenage, he scored 16 goals. On 17 May 2014, Zoko was released by

Blackpool

On 15 August 2014, Zoko signed for Championship club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on a one-year contract. He made his debut for the club the next day as a second-half substitute. He scored his first goal for Blackpool in a 1–0 win over

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

on 3 October 2014. On 22 November 2014, Zoko joined

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

on loan until 17 January 2015. He scored his first goal for Bradford in a 1–0 win over Crawley Town on 3 March 2015.

Yeovil Town

On 21 November 2015, Zoko signed for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

on a short-term contract. Having scored four goals since signing for Yeovil, on 21 January 2015, he extended his contract until the end of the season. At the end of the 2018–19 season, Zoko was released by Yeovil following the club's relegation from the Football League.

Grantham Town

In September 2019, Zoko joined

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

Premier Division side Grantham Town as a player/first-team coach, as well as taking up a Football in the Community role.

International career

Zoko has been capped for Ivory Coast at U-20 level, and played at

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

alongside Everton striker

Arouna Koné Arouna Koné (born 11 November 1983) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Belgian club VK Weerde. After making a name for himself in the Eredivisie, with Roda JC and PSV, he signed with Sevilla in 2007, where he ra ...

and has also played for Ivory Coast at U-23 level.

Career statistics

Honours

Carlisle United *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoko, Francois 1983 births Living people People from Daloa Ivorian footballers Ivory Coast under-20 international footballers Association football forwards Ivorian emigrants to France Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in England AS Nancy Lorraine players Stade Lavallois players R.A.E.C. Mons players K.V. Oostende players Carlisle United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Hacettepe S.K. footballers Yeovil Town F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Newark F.C. players Ligue 2 players Belgian Pro League players Süper Lig players Challenger Pro League players English Football League players Northern Premier League players Midland Football League players