Kevin Sainte-Luce (born 28 April 1993) is a 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 plays as a winger. Born in Metropolitan France, he plays for the Guadeloupe national team at international level.

Career

Early years

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Sainte-Luce moved to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

as a teenager and worked his way through the Cardiff City Academy under the stewardship of the Head of Academy

Neal Ardley Neal Christopher Ardley (born 1 September 1972) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a right midfielder. He is currently the manager of Solihull Moors. Ardley was capped at Under-21 level by England. Ar ...

. The winger made his debut for the senior team on 14 August 2012, in a 2–1 defeat to Northampton Town in the first round of the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. However, despite showing promise for "The Bluebirds" the 19-year–old had his contract terminated on 29 January 2013 following an incident in which he was found guilty of assaulting two girls in a

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

nightclub. Sainte-Luce avoided a six–month prison sentence but was ordered to pay £1,250 compensation to the girls, given a 180-hour community service order and handed a 10–week 8pm–6am curfew for the unprovoked attack.

AFC Wimbledon

In spite of his run–in with the law,

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

manager Neal Ardley decided to offer the young winger a chance to prove himself, signing him on a six–month contract with the option of a further year on 31 January 2013. Sainte-Luce made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut in a 2–1 win over

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 16 February 2013 as a 64th minute substitute for

Rashid Yussuff Rashid Olatokunbo Oladobe Alao Yussuff (born 23 September 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder. Career Early years Yussuff is of Nigerian descent but was born in Poplar, London on 23 September 1989. He is often nicknamed ...

. Ardley's faith in him was soon repaid as on 23 February 2013, Sainte-Luce scored his first Football League goal for "The Dons" in a 1–0 win over

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

. The 19-year–old winger scored his second goal for the club in a 2–0 win over

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

on 23 March 2013. On 25 June 2013, it was announced that manager Neal Ardley had taken up the option of a one-year extension on the 20-year–old winger's contract, retaining him at Kingsmeadow, The Cherry Red Records Stadium for the 2013–14 season. On 7 January 2015, his contract was terminated by mutual consent due to a lack of first team action.

Gateshead

Sainte-Luce signed a short-term, six-month deal with

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

side

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

on 15 January. Sainte-Luce made his Gateshead debut two days later in their 2–0 win at Nuneaton Town. He scored his first goals for Gateshead in their 2–2 draw at Grimsby Town on 4 April. However, he was not offered a new deal at the end of the season and left the club in June.

FC Dieppe

It was announced on 11 August 2015 that Sainte-Luce had signed for FC Dieppe.

Creteil

Saint-Luce joined Creteil for the 2016–17 season.

Rouen

On 14 June 2019, Sainte-Luce joined FC Rouen.FC FLEURY 91 : KÉVIN SAINTE-LUCE A SIGNÉ EN NORMANDIE !
actufoot.com, 14 June 2019

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainte-Luce, Kevin 1993 births Living people French people of Guadeloupean descent Guadeloupean men's footballers French men's footballers Footballers from Paris Guadeloupe men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Guadeloupe men's youth international footballers Championnat National players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players English Football League players National League (English football) players Cardiff City F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Gateshead F.C. players FC Dieppe players US Créteil-Lusitanos players FC Fleury 91 (men) players FC Rouen players French expatriate men's footballers Guadeloupean expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England Guadeloupean expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England