Abdoullah Mustapha Ba (born 31 July 2003) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

on loan from the club

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Early life

Abdoullah Ba was born in Saint-Aubin-lès-Elbeuf, and started playing football in the Club Andelle of

Pîtres Pîtres (; medieval Pistres) is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in north-western France. It lies on the Seine. History Historically, it had a bridge to prevent Vikings from sailing up the river to Paris. It was here that King Char ...

Club career

Ba came through the ranks of

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, where he was offered his first professional contract during the summer 2020, becoming one of the youngest players to turn pro in the Norman club, and entering

Paul Le Guen Paul Joseph Marie Le Guen (, ; born 1 March 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of French club Le Havre. During his playing career, Le Guen played as a midfielder, and enjoyed a suc ...

's squad for the following season. He made his professional debut for

on 4 May 2021, coming on as a substitute in the

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

game against

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. On 31 August 2022, Ba signed permanently for English

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

, signing a five-year contract. He scored his first goal for Sunderland on 12 March 2023 in a 1–0 win against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. On 3 February 2025, Ba returned to France and joined

on loan for the rest of the season.

International career

Abdoullah Ba is a youth international for France, making his debut for France U17 on 17 September 2019, in a friendly game against

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He is of Mauritanian descent.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ba, Abdoullah 2003 births Living people French men's footballers People from Saint-Aubin-lès-Elbeuf France men's youth international footballers French sportspeople of Mauritanian descent Men's association football midfielders Le Havre AC players Ligue 2 players Championnat National 3 players Footballers from Seine-Maritime Sunderland A.F.C. players USL Dunkerque players Black French sportspeople French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England English Football League players 21st-century French sportsmen