07 May 2023 , 08:30
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Frederic Kanoute is well-travelled as a footballer and a man. His career took him from hometown club Lyon to Beijing with memorable spells in the Premier League and LaLiga in between.
Back in North London, where he played for Tottenham Hotspur and in the city he now calls home, his worlds collide at Acland Burghley School. Kanoute is basking in some beautiful spring sunshine and watching around 40 kids kicking a ball around in LaLiga kits.
Kanoute, something of a late bloomer, enjoyed the best years of his career in Spain after leaving London. He scored over 100 goals in nearly 300 games for Sevilla. He helped them win the UEFA Cup twice, the UEFA Super Cup, two Copa del Rey’s and, in 2007, was named the African Footballer of the Year.
Nowadays, he is Kanoute the humanitarian and philanthropist, using his platform to help kids back in Mali and beyond through football, education and any means necessary. Stood in North London in his role as a LaLiga ambassador, there’s a blend of so many parts of Kanoute’s fascinating journey.
From being a young kid just playing for the love of the game, to being back in London, where his years with West Ham and Tottenham proved formative for what was to come, to seeing Sevilla shirts blazing towards goal.
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“The kits are a little bit unexpected!” Kanoute laughs. “But it’s really nice!
“I’ve been linked to LaLiga for more than seven years playing there, and it’s a league I keep close to my heart. It’s nice to see them here in London, where I live.”
The kids are playing as part of a LaLiga x Bloomsbury Football League project, a 30-week league for young people aged 9-13, competing in 12 teams provided with kit by 12 LaLiga clubs.
“It’s really, really good to give so many kids an opportunity to play football in a nice and safe environment. I’m also personally involved in youth development as well, in Africa, so this is a project that speaks to me.”
Whilst there, Kanoute announced announced a unique opportunity for two players from the project to receive special scholarships to LaLiga Camps UK to ensure young people in London who don’t have the same privileges as others aren’t denied their dream.
Kanoute was on hand in North London to give advice to kids involved in LaLiga vs Bloomsbury Football (FilmArt/LaLiga)Watching the kids play, Kanoute is on hand to give help and advice. He recalls being the same age, in France, and never really contemplating what football could offer but recognising it was a “school of life”.
“It was everything to me,” he says. “Football has opened so many doors for me.
“That’s the way I grew up, I was playing football all the time. When we had organised structures or opportunities, of course it was a big privilege. But sometimes we were just playing on the streets, playing at playtime at school, playing any time or anywhere we could.
“That is really part of my development as a footballer, obviously, because that’s where I started to get my skills from. But also as a person, because it’s such a school of life, I would say.”
Kanoute has put the education he gained from football, and the platform it gave him, for a wider purpose. Throughout his career, he has never been afraid to speak out on issues close to his heart or use his profile to make a difference.
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Kanoute was watching kids in kits from 12 LaLiga teams taking part in the Bloomsbury Football League (FilmArt/LaLiga)“Even though football has always been my passion, I’ve always kind of tried to see the person behind the footballer,” he explains.
“For me, the social aspect is very, very important. It’s just like a means to get things done, to get more important things done.
“Even when I was playing, I started to set up my foundation and try to access more kids, whether it is through football or through other things, like education.
“I set up my foundation which has an impact on education in Mali, for example. I was always very involved in youth development as a whole, whether that’s in football or in education.”
When focusing on Kanoute’s off-field accomplishments, it is easy to overlook his incredible achievements on the pitch. And it is testament to the values he lives by that the best years of his career came later on as he put lessons he learnt into practice.
Asked what he is most proud of when he looks back on his career, he ponders for a minute before saying: “I would say always trying to learn, not thinking I got there, always keep pushing and keep learning.
“Eventually it paid off. I never gave up. There were some highs and lows, and through the lows I never gave up. The opposite, I think. I got stronger and eventually it paid off, which I think is a big takeaway.”
Kanoute played for Tottenham and West Ham during his time in the Premier League (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)Becoming a professional footballer was never the big dream for Kanoute, it all started with just having fun. That is advice he still gives to those he comes across, including the kids in LaLiga kits in North London.
“To be honest, sometimes you have kids who say, ‘my dream is to play for this team and to be professional’, for me, as a kid, it wasn’t that,” he recalls.
“Also, as a kid the media was less present and as kids we were playing more for fun, just really enjoying our football.
“Also my education, my parents were insisting more on me being serious and studying because I’m the first person in my family who ended up playing professional football. They didn’t even know that was like a proper job or something I could achieve.
“But, for me, it wasn’t always my main focus as a kid. I say that to the kids, as well, that they should take it step by step and enjoy what they’re doing now, because it will be key for their development later.
“We always say you have to set big objectives for ourselves, this is true, but sometimes we have to take it step by step and set up some smart objectives instead of trying to see too far, too big, too early.
“It’s about enjoyment, it’s about understanding life, it’s about learning a lot of good values and as a kid that’s what I was thinking of first.”
That mindset has helped Kanoute make a major impact both on and off the field, and it is the same mantra which guides LaLiga in their bid to make a positive impact in local communities in Spain and beyond.
Kanoute announced two kids will receive scholarships to LaLiga Camps UK (FilmArt/LaLiga)Keegan Pierce, LaLiga's Managing Director for the UK and Ireland, says: “We opened up our office in London in 2020 we realised when we were setting up shop in North London that we wanted to work with local organisations that were making a difference through football.
“We very quickly identified the guys at Bloomsbury Football who have gone from strength to strength when it comes to their ability to reach thousands of kids every single week and their ability to understand the power of sport to make a difference in young people’s lives.
“The idea came up to do some kind of programme together. We had a pilot last year which was really successful and this is our first full season league. You’ve got 12 clubs from LaLiga that have supported by donating kit and actively promoting the partnership, then a bunch of young people who come out and proudly wear the colours of their teams.
“The contact you make with sport at a young age can really be determinative in terms of the clubs you support, the competition you follow or how often you play sport. It’s important that we’re not just promoting a brand and a competition like LaLiga, which has wonderful stories, but also actively making a difference in the local communities where we’re based which is why we’re so happy to have an initiative like this.”
If you are interested in LaLiga’s partnership with Bloomsbury Football, please find more information here.