Guélor Kanga
Gabonese footballer (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guélor Kanga Kaku (born 1 September 1990) is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Esenler Erokspor and the Gabon national team.
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Kanga with Gabon at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Guélor Kanga Kaku | ||
| Date of birth | 1 September 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Oyem, Gabon | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Esenler Erokspor | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2010 | Mangasport | 41 | (9) |
| 2010–2012 | Missile | 39 | (7) |
| 2012–2013 | Mounana | 23 | (5) |
| 2013–2016 | Rostov | 70 | (7) |
| 2016–2018 | Red Star Belgrade | 39 | (9) |
| 2018–2020 | Sparta Prague | 69 | (28) |
| 2020–2025 | Red Star Belgrade | 149 | (28) |
| 2025– | Esenler Erokspor | 30 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012– | Gabon | 88 | (7) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 March 2026 | |||
Club career
Early years in Gabon
Kanga started playing with AS Mangasport in 2007.[2] Immediately in his first season as a senior at the club, he won the Gabon Championnat National D1.[2] In the following seasons Mangasport finished third in 2008–09 and second in 2009–10.[2] After three seasons at Mangasport, in 2010 he moved to Missile FC and took a part in the 2010–11 championship winning campaign.[2] However, the following season they failed to achieve the same goal and finished 5th.[2] In the 2012–13 season Mounana won the Coupe du Gabon Interclubs, a title Manga was still missing among the domestic ones.[2]
Rostov
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On 9 February 2013, Kanga signed a 3.5-year deal with Russian Premier League side FC Rostov.[3] Kanga made his debut in the Russian Premier League on 9 March 2013 for Rostov against lania Vladikavkaz.[4]
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.[5]
During the four seasons Kanga spent at Rostov, he made 70 appearances in the Russian Premier League and scored on seven occasions.[6] The first three seasons Rostov performed mostly mid-table however in his last season there the club finished second.[2] 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.[7] 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.[6] 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.[8][9] He scored 15 league goals from well executed penalties, another 13 from game.[10]
Red Star Belgrade
On 31 July 2020, Kanga signed a three-year deal with Red Star Belgrade.[11]
International career
Since his debut in 2012, Kanga has been a regular at Gabon national team.[2] He was selected for the Gabon team at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and played all three games in the group.[2]
He was called up to the Gabon squad to play in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations of which Gabon were the hosts.[12] Kanga featured for Gabon in the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 tournament in Cameroon.[13]
Personal life
In December 2021, Guélor Kanga acquired Serbian citizenship.[14]
Controversy
In April 2021, the Congolese Association Football Federation submitted a lawsuit against the country of Gabon for falsification of Kanga's identity.[15] 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.[15] 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.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 14 December 2025[6]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rostov | 2012–13 | Russian Premier League | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 1 | 13 | 2 | |
| 2013–14 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 3 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 70 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 82 | 8 | ||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2016–17 | Serbian SuperLiga | 25 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4[d] | 1 | — | 33 | 8 | |
| 2017–18 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12[c] | 2 | — | 26 | 5 | |||
| Total | 39 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 3 | — | 59 | 13 | |||
| Sparta Prague | 2017–18 | Czech First League | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | 14 | 4 | |||
| 2018–19 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 30 | 12 | |||
| 2019–20 | 31 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2[c] | 1 | — | 37 | 15 | |||
| Total | 69 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 81 | 31 | |||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2020–21 | Serbian SuperLiga | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 9[e] | 2 | — | 37 | 8 | |
| 2021–22 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 13[f] | 1 | — | 48 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 10[g] | 5 | — | 43 | 16 | |||
| 2023–24 | 31 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | — | 36 | 9 | |||
| 2024–25 | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5[d] | 1 | — | 40 | 2 | |||
| Total | 149 | 28 | 15 | 1 | 40 | 9 | — | 204 | 38 | |||
| Esenler Erokspor | 2025–26 | TFF 1. Lig | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 341 | 74 | 33 | 4 | 62 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 440 | 92 | ||
- Includes Russian Cup, Serbian Cup, Czech Cup
- Appearance(s) in Russian Premier League relegation play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League
- Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- Four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 30 March 2026[17]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabon | 2012 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 88 | 7 | |
- As of match played 30 March 2026[17]
- Scores and results list Gabon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kanga goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 October 2015 | Limbe Stadium, Limbé, Cameroon |  Cameroon | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 September 2016 | Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia |  Tunisia | 3–3 | 3–3 | Friendly |
| 3 | 16 November 2023 | Stade de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon |  Kenya | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 18 November 2024 | Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa |  Central African Republic | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 6 June 2025 | Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger |  Niger | 3–4 | 3–4 | Friendly |
| 6 | 31 December 2025 | Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh, Morocco |  Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 7 | 30 March 2026 | Pakhtakor Central Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 | 2–2 (3–2 p) | 2026 FIFA Series |
Honours
Mangasport
- Gabon Championnat National D1: 2007–08[2]
Missile
- Gabon Championnat National D1: 2010–11[2]
Mounana
Rostov
Red Star Belgrade
- Serbian SuperLiga: 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
- Serbian Cup: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Sparta Prague
Individual
- Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season: 2022–23[18]
