Franck Kanouté, founder

A word from the founder

A word from Franck

I was born in Bignona and grew up in Boucotte, in Ziguinchor. Like every child in the neighbourhood, I started playing in the street, on sandy pitches. My father, Jules Kanouté, a footballer himself, passed on his love of the game to me. He taught me that talent is not enough without hard work and discipline.

Football has taken me far: from Juventus to Serbia, by way of Belgium, France and the Senegal national team. But I have never forgotten where I come from, nor all the talented young people of Casamance who never got their chance because of a lack of coaching and structures.

Casamance Legacy Academy is my way of giving back to my region what it gave me. We want to train good players, but above all young people who are respectful, disciplined and proud of their roots, and who also succeed at school and in life.

To parents: thank you for your trust. To young players: dreaming is allowed, but a dream is built every single day.

Franck Kanouté, Founder

My biography

Originally from Ziguinchor, Franck Kanouté is a Senegalese professional footballer and a senior international for Senegal.

Trained at the Juventus FC academy, with whom he played in the Primavera and the UEFA Youth League, he went on to build his career in Europe: Pescara, Ascoli and Cosenza in Italy, Cercle Brugge in Belgium, FC Sochaux in France, then Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. He now plays for FK Radnički Niš in the Serbian SuperLiga.

At Juventus, Franck Kanouté developed the values that still guide him today: discipline, humility, hard work and the high standards of top-level football.

This experience marked the start of his professional career and is today one of the main sources of inspiration for Casamance Legacy Academy. Through this project, he wants to pass these same values on to the next generation of young talent in Casamance.