François Kamano (born 2 May 1996) is a Guinean 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 striker or

left winger 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

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club Damac and the Guinea national team.

Club career

Bastia

Kamano made his professional debut with

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

on 9 August 2014 in a 3–3 home draw against

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, replacing Christopher Maboulou for the last 8 minutes. His first goal came on 20 December, putting Bastia ahead in an eventual 1–1 draw at

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. He finished his first season with four goals in 24 games, and was sent off on 9 May 2015, in the first half of a 1–0 win at

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. At the start of the following season, Kamano received two straight red cards in losses at

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

and

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 ...

. He scored three goals, all in home and away 2–1 wins over Rennes; his brace at Roazhon Park in the final game on 14 May 2016, he ensured the 10th place for the

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

ns.

Bordeaux

In July 2016, Kamano signed a four-year contract with

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, after previous trials with AIK,

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

, and

and interest from

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

. The reported transfer was €2.5 million plus bonuses. On 26 October 2016, he made his Bordeaux debut in a 2–0

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

win against

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

side

Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...

, also scoring his debut goal in the same game. On 30 October 2016, he made his league debut in a 0–0 away draw against

Olympique Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football. Founded in 1899, OM has ...

. On 6 November 2016, he scored his first league goal for Bordeaux in a 2–1 home win against

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

. Later that month, on 27 November 2016, he scored his first brace for Bordeaux in a 3–2 home win against

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, his first, a header in the 88th minute from a corner from Jaroslav Plašil and his second, a tap-in in the third minute of added time from a deflection off Jérémy Ménez's shot. In his debut season, Kamano got 17 starts in 30 games selected, providing four assists and netting in six goals. Playing largely on the left-hand side, he helped Bordeaux finish 6th in the league and qualify for next season's

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Kamano made his Europa League debut on 27 July 2017, playing full 90 minutes in both the legs of the third qualifying round match against Videoton. Bordeaux won the first leg 2–1 but bowed out of the tournament in the second leg after losing on away goals. At the end of the

2017–18 Ligue 1 The 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, also known as Ligue 1 Conforama for sponsorship reasons, was the 80th season since its establishment. The season started on 4 August 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. AS Monaco FC, Monaco were the defending champions. O ...

season, he helped Bordeaux to another 6th-place finish, scoring 8 goals in the process, and thus qualifying for another Europa League season. On 2 August 2018, he scored his debut goal in the Europa League in the 2nd leg of the second qualifying round match against

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

. On 20 September 2018, he made his Europa League group stage debut in a 1–0 away loss against

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

. On 8 November 2018, he scored his first goal in the Europa League group stage in a 1–1 home draw against Zenit Saint Petersburg. Bordeaux was not able to advance to the next round after finishing third in the group stage.

Lokomotiv Moscow

On 17 August 2020, Kamano moved to Russian club

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

for a reported transfer fee of €5.5 million and signed a long-term contract. In his first season, he helped Lokomotiv to win the 2020–21 Russian Cup, he scored a goal in each of the four rounds the club played in, including the opening goal in a 3–1 final victory over Krylia Sovetov Samara on 12 May 2021. He also became a joint-top scorer of the cup with teammate

Fyodor Smolov Fyodor Mikhaylovich Smolov ( rus, Фёдор Миха́йлович Смо́лов, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ˈsmoləf, links=yes; born 9 February 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Club career Smolo ...

. Kamano left Lokomotiv in June 2023.

Saudi Arabia

On 3 August 2023, Kamano joined

club

Abha Abha (, ') is the capital of Asir, Asir Province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated above sea level in the fertile Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia, near Asir National Park. Abha's mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination fo ...

on a two-year deal. On 23 August 2024, Kamano joined Damac on a one-year deal.

International career

On 6 July 2013, Kamano made his national team debut in a 3–1 2014 CHAN qualification defeat against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. On 30 December 2014, he was named in coach Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

in Equatorial Guinea. He made two late substitute appearances for the quarter-finalists. On 12 June 2015, he scored his first ever senior international goal in a 2–1 defeat against

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. On 13 June 2019, he was named in Guinea's 23-man squad for the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. On 22 June 2019, he scored in his sides 2–2 opening match draw against

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Kamano scored from the spot, after Ibrahima Traoré was fouled inside the box, he was later subbed out in the 78th minute for Fodé Koita.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''As of match played 24 March 2023. Guinea score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kamano goal.''

Honours

Club

;Lokomotiv Moscow * Russian Cup: 2020–21

Individual

* Russian Cup Top goalscorer: 2020–21

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamano, Francois 1996 births Footballers from Conakry Living people Guinean men's footballers Guinea men's international footballers Men's association football forwards SC Bastia players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players Abha Club players Damac FC players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 3 players Russian Premier League players Saudi Pro League players Saudi First Division League players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Guinean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Guinean expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia