Islamdine Halifa (born 20 December 2004), commonly known as Islam Halifa, is a French 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 lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Club career

Born in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, Halifa began his career at LSM Nîmois, before being recruited by

Nîmes Olympique Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 12 April 1937 and currently plays in the Championnat National, the third tier of French football. The Sta ...

in 2012. He remained there for 9 years before joining Lyon youth academy. There, he was part of Lyon U18's side that won the 2022

Coupe Gambardella The Coupe Gambardella is a French football cup competition held between the under-18s of the French football clubs, organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). The cup is regarded as an opportunity for young hopefuls to showcase their s ...

. On 28 August 2023, Halifa signed his first professional contract with Lyon for a duration of four years. In June 2024, Halifa joined Belgian side RWD Molenbeek on a one-season loan deal. There, he quickly became an important starter of the team in the

Challenger Pro League The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the ...

. He was named as the best player of the team in October 2024 by RWD Molenbeek supporters.

Personal life

Born in France, Halifa is of Comorian descent.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halifa, Islam 2004 births Living people Footballers from Nîmes French men's footballers France men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders Olympique Lyonnais players R.W.D. Molenbeek (2015) players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players Challenger Pro League players French sportspeople of Comorian descent 21st-century French sportsmen