Guélor Kanga


Guélor Kanga Kaku is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Esenler Erokspor and the Gabon national team.
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Club career

Early years in Gabon

Kanga started playing with AS Mangasport in 2007. Immediately in his first season as a senior at the club, he won the Gabon Championnat National D1. In the following seasons Mangasport finished third in 2008–09 and second in 2009–10. After three seasons at Mangasport, in 2010 he moved to Missile FC and took a part in the 2010–11 championship winning campaign. However, the following season they failed to achieve the same goal and finished 5th. In the 2012–13 season Mounana won the Coupe du Gabon Interclubs, a title Manga was still missing among the domestic ones.

Rostov

On 9 February 2013, Kanga signed a 3.5-year deal with Russian Premier League side FC Rostov. Kanga made his debut in the Russian Premier League on 9 March 2013 for Rostov against lania Vladikavkaz.
Kanga received a three match ban in December 2014 after being sent-off for Rostov against Spartak Moscow for responding to racist abuse from the Spartak fans with an obscene gesture.
During the four seasons Kanga spent at Rostov, he made 70 appearances in the Russian Premier League and scored on seven occasions. The first three seasons Rostov performed mostly mid-table however in his last season there the club finished second. By then Kanga became the main target of Miodrag Božović who had coached him at Rostov between 2012 and 2014 and was now at Serbian side Red Star Belgrade who had won the championship and were reinforcing the team for their 2016–17 UEFA Champions League campaign.

Red Star Belgrade

On 1 July 2016, Kanga signed a two-year deal with Red Star Belgrade. Kanga was Miodrag Božović's transfer wish for Red Star's upcoming Champions League campaign, as Kanga and Božović had known each other over two years at Rostov. Kanga was the first Gabonese footballer in 33 years to play on Serbian soil, as the previous one was actually the first ever footballer from Africa to play in Yugoslav First League, Gabonese international Anselme Delicat, who in 1983 debuted for Serbian club FK Vojvodina. He opened way for numerous players from other African countries that came after him to the region.
Kanga made his debut in an official match for Red Star on 12 July 2016, as a starter in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League against Maltese side Valletta away. Red Star won 2–1, and he assisted team mate Aleksandar Katai for the equaliser. Kanga scored his first goal for Red Star in the first leg of the third qualifying round against Ludogorets in Razgrad after a "parabola" shot from distance. Three days later, he made his SuperLiga debut in a win against Metalac.

Sparta Prague

Kanga was transferred to Czech team Sparta Prague on 2 February 2018 for an undisclosed fee. He scored 15 league goals from well executed penalties, another 13 from game.

Red Star Belgrade

On 31 July 2020, Kanga signed a three-year deal with Red Star Belgrade.

International career

Since his debut in 2012, Kanga has been a regular at Gabon national team. He was selected for the Gabon team at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and played all three games in the group.
He was called up to the Gabon squad to play in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations of which Gabon were the hosts. Kanga featured for Gabon in the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 tournament in Cameroon.

Personal life

In December 2021, Guélor Kanga acquired Serbian citizenship.

Controversy

In April 2021, the Congolese Association Football Federation submitted a lawsuit against the country of Gabon for falsification of Kanga's identity. They claim that Kanga was born in Congo and is in fact four years older than the Gabonese birth certificate shows and that his birth name is Kiaku-Kiaku Kianga; allegedly, the Gabonese authorities gave him Gabonese citizenship with a new falsified birth certificate. Additionally, in May 2021, it was reported that the CAF began investigating after there were allegations that his mother died in 1986, despite his registered date of birth which is September 1990.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 October 2015Limbe Stadium, Limbé, Cameroon1–12–1Friendly
26 September 2016Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia3–33–3Friendly
316 November 2023Stade de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon2–12–12026 FIFA World Cup qualification
418 November 2024Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–01–02025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
56 June 2025Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger3–43–4Friendly
631 December 2025Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh, Morocco1–02–32025 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Mangasport
Missile
Mounana
Rostov
Red Star Belgrade
Sparta Prague
Individual