Cheick Tiemoko Diabate (born 21 January 2002) is an English 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 defender for club

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

Career

Exeter City

Diabate started his career at

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a 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, Stevenage w ...

before a move to

in 2018. He first appeared in a matchday squad during Exeter's 2–0 away

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

group-stage victory over Newport County in October 2019, and then later that season enjoyed a brief loan spell with Buckland Athletic. In a disrupted 2020–21 campaign, Diabate had loan spells at

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

and Tiverton Town before making his Exeter debut in November 2020, featuring for the final twenty-eight minutes of their EFL Trophy tie with West Bromwich Albion U23s, which resulted in a 4–0 win for The Grecians. On 14 July 2021, Diabate joined Southern League Premier Division South side,

Truro City Truro City Football Club is an Association football in England, English football club based in Truro, Cornwall. They currently compete in the National League (English football), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

and went onto make his debut during a 1–1 draw with Walton Casuals a month later. He then scored his first career goal in a 4–1 away victory over Poole Town in October before eventually returning to Exeter two months later following an injury crisis at the

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

-based side. He made his league debut for the club just a week later in a 2–1 defeat to

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

. He went on to feature heavily in the second half of Exeter's season as they secured promotion to League One. Diabate was rewarded with a new two-year contract in June 2022. On 30 August 2024, Diabate joined League Two club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

on a season-long loan deal. He was recalled in January 2025. On 5 May 2025, Exeter announced the player would leave the club in June when his contract expired.

Personal life

Diabate's cousin Mory Koné is a former professional footballer, having played for

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. Diabate is a Muslim.

Career statistics

Honours

Exeter City * League Two runner-up: 2021–22

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diabate, Cheick 2002 births Living people English men's footballers English people of Ivorian descent Sportspeople of Ivorian descent Men's association football defenders Stevenage F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Buckland Athletic F.C. players Bideford A.F.C. players Tiverton Town F.C. players Truro City F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Western Football League players Southern Football League players English Football League players English Muslims Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people Footballers from the London Borough of Southwark 21st-century English sportsmen