Ismaël Béko Fofana

Ismaël Béko Fofana (born 8 September 1988) is an Ivorian professional footballer who play as a striker for Alashkert in the Armenian Premier League.

Béko Fofana
Personal information
Full name Ismaël Béko Fofana
Date of birth (1988-09-08) 8 September 1988
Place of birth Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Alashkert
Number 15
Youth career
Académie MimoSifcom
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 ASEC Mimosas - (-)
2006–2010 Charlton Athletic 0 (0)
2007–2008 → Fredrikstad (loan) 24 (1)
2008–2009 → Cherbourg (loan) 1 (0)
2009–2010 → Saint-Lô (loan) - (-)
2010–2011 Séwé Sport - (-)
2012–2013 Shirak 31 (15)
2012–2013 → Zob Ahan (loan) 14 (1)
2013–2016 Partizan 16 (6)
2015 → Qingdao Jonoon (loan) 25 (5)
2016–2018 Čukarički 26 (5)
2017 → Irtysh Pavlodar (loan) 29 (4)
2018 Vojvodina 13 (2)
2019 Zira 11 (1)
2020–2021 IMT 21 (8)
2021– Alashkert 32 (4)
International career
2005 Ivory Coast U17 3 (1)
2008 Ivory Coast U23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 December 2022

Fofana represented his country at all youth international levels from Under-17 to Under-23.

Club career

Early years

Born in Abidjan, Fofana came through the MimoSifcom academy, before being promoted to the first team of ASEC Mimosas at the age of 16 in 2005. He made his CAF Champions League debut during that year, even scoring once against Egyptian club Zamalek.[1] He again played that competition the following year with the Mimosas, before signing with English side Charlton Athletic, as a result of the cooperation between these two clubs.[2]

Subsequently, Fofana was loaned to Norwegian club Fredrikstad. However, his contract with FFK was terminated in September 2008,[3] after failing to make an impact at the club, scoring only two goals in two seasons.

Fofana then spent some time with French clubs Cherbourg and Saint-Lô,[4] playing in the lower leagues, but without much success. He eventually moved back to his homeland and spent the next two seasons with Séwé Sport.

Shirak

In January 2012, Fofana came to Europe for the second time by joining Armenian club Shirak.[5] He was their leading scorer in the 2012–13 season with 14 goals, despite leaving the club in the middle of the season. In December 2012, Fofana was loaned to Iranian club Zob Ahan.[6][7] He returned to Shirak the following summer for their qualification matches for the UEFA Champions League.[8] Fofana scored a hat-trick in the first leg of the first qualifying round against Sammarinese champions Tre Penne.[9] He also showed good performances in a second qualifying round tie against Partizan, securing a transfer to the Serbian club after agreement between two clubs.

Partizan

On 6 August 2013, it was announced that Fofana signed a four-year contract with Partizan.[10] He was officially presented the following day and was given the number 10 shirt.[11] On 17 August 2013, Fofana made his official debut for the club in a 0–0 away league draw against Radnički Niš. He scored his first competitive goal for Partizan in a 5–1 home league win over Radnički Kragujevac on 25 August 2013.

In the 2015 winter transfer window, Fofana was sent on loan to Chinese club Qingdao Jonoon.

After returning to Partizan from his season-long loan, Fofana appeared in only one league game, before being released by the club in the summer of 2016.

Čukarički

On 25 June 2016, it was announced that Fofana signed a two-year contract with Čukarički.[12] He made his official debut for the club only five days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 home win over Kazakh club Ordabasy in the first leg of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. On 21 July 2016, Fofana scored his first goal for Čukarički in a 1–1 home draw with Hungarian club Videoton in the return leg of the Europa League second qualifying round.

Irtysh Pavlodar loan

On 1 March 2017, Fofana joined Irtysh Pavlodar on loan until the end of the 2016/17 season.[13]

Vojvodina

On 30 June 2018, Fofana signed a two-year-deal with Vojvodina.[14] On 18 December 2018 Fofana and Vojvodina reached an agreement to mutually terminate the contract.[15]

Zira

On 28 January 2019, Fofana signed a deal with Zira,[16] leaving in May 2019 at the end of his contract.[17]

International career

Fofana was the top scorer of the Ivorian national under-17 team in their successful qualifying campaign for the 2005 African U-17 Championship, as well as their top scorer in the final tournament. He also played at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, scoring in their opening match against Italy U17.[18]

In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics,[19] Fofana was a member of the Ivorian U23 team at the 2008 Toulon Tournament, scoring the opener against Japan in the third-place match. He then missed in the penalty shoot-out, but Ivory Coast eventually managed to win the bronze medal.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 10 November 2018[20][21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Charlton Athletic 2006–07 Premier League 000000––00
2007–08 Championship 000000––00
2008–09 000000––00
2009–10 League One 000000––00
Total 000000000000
Fredrikstad (loan) 2007 Tippeligaen 23100–00–231
2008 1000–––10
Total 24100000000241
AS Cherbourg (loan) 2008–09 National 10–00–10
Saint-Lô Manche (loan) 2009–10 CFA 2 –00–
Séwé Sport 2010 Ivorian Ligue 1 ––
2011 ––
Total 0000
Shirak 2011 Armenian Premier League 0000–30–30
2012–13 301400–40–3414
2013–14 1100–43–54
Total 31150000113004218
Zob Ahan Esfahan (loan) 2012–13 Persian Gulf Pro League 141–––141
Partizan 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga 10421–––120
2014–15 5211–30–93
2015–16 1000–––10
Total 16632003000228
Qingdao Jonoon (loan) 2015 China League One 25510–––265
Čukarički 2016–17 Serbian SuperLiga 17421–41–236
2017–18 9110–––101
Total 26531004100337
Irtysh Pavlodar (loan) 2017 Kazakhstan Premier League 29421004000355
Vojvodina 2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga 13210000000142
Career total 17939104002440021347

Honours

Club

ASEC Mimosas

Shirak

Partizan

International

Ivory Coast

References
  1. "Zamalek join neighbours Al Ahli in semis". fifa.com. 22 August 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  2. "Global alliances boost Charlton". fifa.com. 29 February 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  3. "Fofana og Kouadio til Frankrike" (in Norwegian). fredrikstadfk.no. 30 September 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  4. "Un retour au sommet" (in French). lamanchelibre.fr. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  5. Ширак просматривает 2-х ивуарийцев (in Russian). armsport.am. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  6. Беко перешел в Иран на правах аренды (in Russian). armsport.am. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  7. Официально. Форвард "Ширака" перешел в "Зоб Ахан" (in Russian). armfootball.com. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  8. Беко присоединился к Шираку (in Russian). armsport.am. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  9. "Fofana treble puts Shirak in control". uefa.com. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  10. "Fofana Partizanov 4 godine" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  11. "Fofana predstavljen medijima" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  12. "Fofana stigao u Čukarički" (in Serbian). fkcukaricki.rs. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  13. ИСМАЭЛЬ ФОФАНА БУДЕТ ВЫСТУПАТЬ ЗА ИРТЫШ НА ПРАВАХ АРЕНДЫ. fcirtysh.kz (in Russian). FC Irtysh Pavlodar. 1 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  14. ISMAEL FOFANA NOVI NAPADAČ VOJVODINE at FK Vojvodina official website, 2 July 2018 (in Serbian)
  15. Фофана и Ђорђевић споразумно раскинули уговоре at FK Vojvodina official website, 18 December 2018 (in Serbian)
  16. Fofana Archived 29 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine at Zira FK official website, 28 January 2019 (in Azerbaijani)
  17. "Zira" has finished a contract with 9 players". facebook.com/. Zira FK Facebook. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  18. "Italy victorious after dramatic late show (3:4)". fifa.com. 17 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  19. "Côte d'Ivoire - La sélection olympique au tournoi de Toulon" (in French). fifa.com. 20 May 2008. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  20. "I.Fofana". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  21. "Ismaël Fofana". nifs.no. nifs. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
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