Stéphane Diarra Badji (born 18 January 1990) is a Senegalese 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 played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Cypriot club

Omonia Aradippou Omonia Aradippou () is a Cypriot professional football club based in the Municipality of Aradippou, a settlement in the outskirts of the city of Larnaca. The club was founded on 4 April 1929 and currently they are the Champions of the Cypr ...

. Badji moved from Senegal to Norway in 2012, signing with

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

. The following year, he joined

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann is a Norwegian professional football club based in Bergen. Founded on 26 September 1908, Brann has played in the first tier of Norwegian football for 67 out of 80 seasons, the second most of any club. They play their hom ...

, where spent two seasons before moved to Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir in 2014.

Club career

Badji started his career alongside his brother Ismaïla Diarra Badji in the Ècole de football Mamadou Fayé. In the winter of 2007–2008 he left the football school of Mamadou Fayé with his brother and joined to Championnat Professionnel Ligue 1 side Xam-Xam. After a successful first professional season the Badji brothers signed in Spring 2009 with Casa Sport. On 31 December 2011, left his club Casa Sport and signed with

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

club

Sogndal Fotball Sogndal Fotball is the football department of Norwegian sports club Sogndal IL from Sogndal in Vestland. The club was founded in 1926. The men's team currently plays in second tier 1. divisjon of the Norwegian football league system. The club's ...

, without his brother who plays today with Casa Sport. On 1 March 2013, he signed a four-year contract with Brann. On 28 June 2019, Badji signed a contract with

Ludogorets Razgrad Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 (), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Razgrad, which currently competes in the First Professional Football League ...

. On 2 February 2022, Badji signed a contract with

Eyüpspor Eyüpspor Kulübü, known as ikas Eyüpspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional association football, football club located in the Eyüpsultan district of Istanbul. Their colours are lavender and yellow. Their home ground is Eyü ...

. On 17 July 2023, Badji signed a one-year contract with

Olympiakos Nicosia Olympiakos Nicosia (, ''Olympiakos Lefkosias'') is a Cypriot football club based in Nicosia and competes in the . The club was founded in 1931, and is a founding member of the Cyprus Football Association. The club colors are black and green. ...

and was named captain at the club.

International career

Badji played for

Senegal national under-23 football team Senegal national under-23 football team (also known as Senegal Olympic, Senegal U-23) represents Senegal in international football competitions in the Olympic Games and the CAF U-23 Championship. The selection is limited to players under the ag ...

the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. He earned his first senior cap in November 2011 and played in 2011 the

UEMOA Tournament The UEMOA Tournament is a football (soccer) tournament held between nations who are a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). The tournament was first played in 2007 2007 was designated as the International Helioph ...

. Badji received 21 team selections from Senegal between 2012 and 2015, without scoring a goal. He played his first national team match on 29 February 2012, friendly against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He then played five matches returning to the

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

Career statistics

Honours

Casa Sport *

Senegal FA Cup The Senegal FA Cup is the top knock-out tournament in Senegalese football. It was created in 1961.Senegal - L ...

: 2011 Ludogorets *

First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

: 2019–20, 2020–21 *

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup () is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and the holder of the Bulgarian Cup at that time. ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Senegal *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Badji, Stephane 1990 births Living people Senegalese men's footballers Footballers from Ziguinchor Senegal men's international footballers Casa Sports players Sogndal Fotball players SK Brann players Eliteserien players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Kayserispor footballers Bursaspor footballers PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players Eyüpspor footballers Belgian Pro League players Süper Lig players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players TFF 1. Lig players 2011 African Nations Championship players Olympic footballers for Senegal Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players ASC Xam-Xam players İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Olympiakos Nicosia players Omonia Aradippou players Senegalese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Norway Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Senegal men's A' international footballers Men's association football midfielders 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen