Gilson Manuel Silva Alves (born 18 March 1987 in Fogo), sometimes known as Ja, is a

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, as of 2013 who plays for

Olympique du Kef Olympique du Kef ( ar, أولمبيك الكاف), is a Tunisian football club, based in the city of El Kef in northwest Tunisia. Founded in 1922, the team plays in red, white and black colors. Their ground is Stade 7 Novembre du Kef, which ha ...

in the

Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2 The Ligue Professionelle 2 is the second football level in Tunisia, under Ligue Professionelle 1 which is the top level of Tunisian football. Contested by 24 clubs, divided in two groups, playing each other twice during the season, the top two te ...

. His first youth club was Batuque, he participated in two other clubs abroad, Rapid Bucharest and Nadi al-Jazira in the Emirates, likely the first Cape Verdean player to participate in the youth player. Gilson Silva appeared in the senior level and his first two clubs were of his nation,

Batuque FC Batuque Futebol Clube (Capeverdean Crioulo, ALUPEC: ''Batuki Futibol Klubi'', São Vicente: ''Batúque Futebol Klube'') is a football club that plays in the São Vicente Premier Division in Cape Verde. It is based in the city of Mindelo on the i ...

in the early part of the 2004–05 season and later Botafogo FC from Fogo. Gelson later played professional clubs in Tunisia including Étoile Sahel (played as of January 2014), US Monastir, Olympique de Kef and Sbiba. In between Étoile, outside Tunisia, he played with EA Guingamp, later he played with

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

in the Spanish Leagues. Whilst at

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guinga ...

, then in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

, Silva played in the

2009 Coupe de France Final The 2009 Coupe de France Final was the 91st final of France's most prestigious cup competition, the Coupe de France. The final was played at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on 9 May 2009 and was contested between Rennes of ...

in which they beat

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

International career

Silva has played for the senior

Cape Verde national football team A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

in a qualifying match for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Personal life

He married Sandra in 2008 and raised their first child, a daughter in 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Gilson 1987 births Living people Cape Verdean men's footballers Cape Verde men's international footballers Men's association football forwards People from Fogo, Cape Verde Batuque FC players Étoile Sportive du Sahel players En Avant Guingamp players AD Ceuta footballers AS d'Ariana players CS Chebba players Olympique du Kef players US Monastir (football) players Ligue 2 players CAF Champions League-winning players