Frédéric Oumar Kanouté (born 2 September 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for several top-tier clubs in Europe, enjoying his greatest success with La Liga side Sevilla. Kanouté was named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year, the first player born outside Africa to win the award.

Kanouté began his career with Lyon in France before moving to West Ham United of the Premier League in 2000. After a spell at their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Kanouté moved to Spanish club Sevilla where he won two consecutive UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007 in addition to various other European and domestic honours and remains the club's highest-scoring foreign player. He joined Beijing Goan in June 2012.^[2][3][4]

Despite playing for France U-21, Kanouté was a member of the Malian squad which reached the semi-finals of the 2004 African Cup of Nations and also featured in their selections for the tournament in 2006 and 2010. His international career ended in 2010 with a total of 38 caps and 23 goals.

Frédéric Oumar Kanouté^[5] was born on 2 September 1977^[6] in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône.^[5]

Kanouté made 11 appearances for the France national under-21 team, scoring one goal, from 1998 to 1999.^[15] After turning 21 in 1998, Kanouté was not called up for the French national squad in 2000, 2002, or 2004. In 2004, FIFA changed its rules to allow a footballer to play for the national team of the country in which his mother or father was born. Although eligible for either, Kanouté elected to play for Mali rather than for France. Kanouté was joint top goal scorer for Mali at the 2004 African Cup of Nations. Kanouté scored four goals in four matches helping Mali to the semi-finals, where they lost to Morocco.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2007, Kanouté, along with Mali international teammate Mamady Sidibé, were attacked by irate Togolese fans after they knocked Togo out of the African Cup of Nations qualifier.^[16] Frederic Kanoute announced his retirement from international football following Mali's elimination from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.^[17]

In 2001, Kanouté was described by The Irish Times in 2001 as "highly skilful, quick-footed, quick-witted and with an eye for the spectacular."^[18] Upon signing for Sevilla in 2005, the club's sporting director, Monchi, described Kanouté with the following words: "He's tall, good in the air, skilful and strong and can play up front or just behind the lead striker."^[19] Throughout his career he was also known for his eye for goal.^[20] In 2020, Chris Howie of beIN Sports described Kanouté as a "tall, languid, graceful [...] striker," also labelling him a "late bloomer."^[21]

He has been practicing Islam since he was around the age of 20. He refused to wear a Sevilla shirt bearing the name of club sponsor 888.com, due to the fact the website is used for gambling, which is against the principles of Islam; this meant that the club had to give him a brand-free jersey every match. The company, however, agreed to excuse him from their publicity campaigns in return for Kanouté wearing the sponsored kit, which was part of the players' contractual duties. In 2007, Kanouté paid more than US$700,000 out of his pocket to buy a mosque in Seville. The contract on the premises had expired and the mosque was due to be sold. The Islamic community of Spain confirmed it had requested Kanouté's aid after the mosque was put up for sale.^[22] Kanouté helped raise over $1m in a crowdfunding campaign to build the mosque.^[23]

Kanouté insists his faith has never presented itself as a problem in his relationship with the coaching staff, teammates or fans. He has stated that "Islam has helped me to be this way, so this is normal. It's a path you take to keep you calm, to help you think about the place you live in, to love your neighbour. It's strange when I hear about all these problems of terrorism because it's the opposite of what I understood for Islam."^[24]

He observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan. He has stated that "I can keep fasting in Ramadan even when I am playing...it is sometimes harder to keep the fast because here in the south of Spain it is very hot, but I can do it, thank God."^[25]

After scoring a goal in a January 2009 Copa Del Rey match against Deportivo La Coruña, Kanouté lifted his jersey and displayed a black shirt underneath emblazoned with the word "Palestine". The action was interpreted by BBC sources^[26] as a protest against the Israeli Army operation in the Gaza Strip ongoing at that time. Kanouté was cautioned with a yellow card for displaying a political message, and subsequently fined around $4,000 by the league.^[26]

Lyon

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1997^[33]

Sevilla^[13]

• Copa del Rey: 2006–07, 2009–10
• Supercopa de España: 2007
• UEFA Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07^[34]
• UEFA Super Cup: 2006

Individual

• African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2004^{[citation needed]}
• African Footballer of the Year: 2007^[35][36]
• ESM Team of the Season: 2006–07^{[citation needed]}