Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan
Finnish footballer (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kevin Daté Kouassivi-Benissan (born 25 January 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for VPS in the Veikkausliiga.[2][3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Daté Kouassivi-Benissan[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 January 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Tornio, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | VPS | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | HJK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2023 | Klubi 04 | 49 | (11) |
| 2018–2025 | HJK | 55 | (4) |
| 2019 | → RoPS (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2020 | → Inter Turku (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2022 | → Lahti (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2025 | → Košice (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2026– | VPS | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Finland U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | Finland U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | Finland U21 | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 29 June 2020 | |||
Club career
HJK Helsinki
Kouassivi-Benissan grew up in Helsinki, and spent his entire junior career with HJK Helsinki. He represented HJK youth in 2016–17 UEFA Youth League.[4] After playing for the club's reserve team Klubi 04 since 2016 in second-tier Ykkönen and third-tier Kakkonen, he made his Veikkausliiga debut with the first team on 14 July 2018, at age 19, against TPS.[5]
Loans to Inter Turku, RoPS and Lahti
On 2 August 2019, Kouassivi-Benissan joined RoPS on loan for the rest of the 2019 season.[6]
On 28 November 2019, it was announced that Kouassivi-Benissan was loaned out to Inter Turku for the 2020 season. He would reunite with former HJK coach José Riveiro.[7]
In the 2021 season, he made only six appearances in the league for HJK, as injuries limited his playing time throughout the season.[5]
On 17 March 2022, Kouassivi-Benissan joined Lahti on loan for the 2022 season.[8] He played in 23 league matches during the season, scoring one goal.
Return to HJK
After spending three seasons on loan in three different Veikkausliiga teams, Kouassivi-Benissan started the 2023 season in HJK squad. During the season, he made a breakthrough as he recorded five assists in a span of nine league matches.[9] He also made 11 appearances for HJK in the club's 2023–24 European campaign, in which HJK qualified to the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.[4] On 6 November 2023, Kouassivi-Benissan extended his contract with HJK, signing a new two-year deal until the end of 2025.[10]
Loan to Košice
On 21 January 2025, Kouassivi-Benissan was loaned out to Slovak First League club Košice for the remainder of the season.[11][12]
Vaasan Palloseura
After his contract with HJK expired at the end of 2025, Kouassivi-Benissan signed with VPS ahead of the 2026 season.[13]
International career
Kouassivi-Benissan has represented Finland at youth international levels.
On 24 August 2023, it was reported in Finnish media that Kouassivi-Benissan had considered a possibility to represent Togo at senior international level, after receiving numerous contacts from Togolese Football Federation.[14]
On 30 August 2023, he received his first call-up to the Finland senior national team by head coach Markku Kanerva, for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Denmark,[15][16] but remained an unused substitute.
Personal life
Kouassivi-Benissan was born in Finland to Finnish mother and Togolese father, and was raised in Pikku Huopalahti, Helsinki. In an interview in the early 2022, Kouassivi-Benissan said he doesn't have a Togolese passport and hasn't visited the country. Besides his native languages Finnish and English, he speaks French. He attended the English school in Meilahti.[17][18]
Career statistics
- As of 8 July 2025[19]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Klubi 04 | 2016 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Kakkonen | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 3 | |||
| 2018 | Ykkönen | 23 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 7 | |||
| 2019 | Kakkonen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | Kakkonen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Ykkönen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 11 | ||
| HJK Helsinki | 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11[c] | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 46 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 76 | 2 | ||
| RoPS (loan) | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Inter Turku (loan) | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 19 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| Lahti (loan) | 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |
| Košice (loan) | 2024–25 | Slovak First League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 155 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 210 | 16 | ||
- Includes Suomen Cup and Slovak Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Conference League
- Includes UEFA Europa League
Honours
HJK
- Veikkausliiga: 2018, 2021, 2023
- Finnish Cup: 2025[20]
- Finnish League Cup: 2023