Abdoulaye Soulama

{{Infobox football biography

| image =

| name= Abdoulaye Soulama

| fullname = Abdoulaye Soulama Traore

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1979|11|29}}

| birth_place = Ouagadougou, Upper Volta

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|10|27|1979|11|29}}

| death_place =

| height =

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| position = Goalkeeper

| youthyears1= 1994–1997

| youthclubs1= ASFA Yennega | caps1 = - | goals1 =

| years1 = 1997–2000 | clubs1 = ASFA Yennega

| years2 = 2000–2002 | clubs2 = Denizlispor{{NFT player|pid=1152}} | caps2 = 25 | goals2 = 0

| years3 = 2002–2003 | clubs3 = CA Batna | caps3 = - | goals3 =

| years4 = 2003–2006 | clubs4 = ASF Bobo-Dioulasso | caps4 = - | goals4 =

| years5 = 2006–2007 | clubs5 = ASFA Yennega | caps5 = - | goals5 =

| years6 =2007–2014 | clubs6 = Asante Kotoko | caps6 = - | goals6 =-

| years7 =2014–2016 | clubs7 = Hearts of Oak SC | caps7 = - | goals7 = -

| nationalyears1= 1997–2015 | nationalteam1= Burkina Faso{{cite web | url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/burk-recintlp.html | title=Burkina Faso - Record International Players }} | nationalcaps1= 61 | nationalgoals1 = 0

| pcupdate =

| ntupdate = 28 June 2012

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{fb|Burkina Faso}}}}

}}

Abdoulaye Soulama (29 November 1979 – 27 October 2017) was a Burkinabé international footballer.

Career

In the 2001-2002 football season, Soulama played for Turkish team Denizlispor. He played successful matches at the club which made it to the UEFA Cup that season. Unfortunately, some Turkish players, including team captain Tolunay Kafkas, wanted coach Sakip Ozberk to give the starting spot to Turkish substitute Suleyman Kucuk. At a cup match against Fenerbahçe SK, Tolunay punched Soulama in the face and got a red card. However, despite being reduced to 10 men, Denizlispor managed to pull a surprise and defeat their opponent 2–1. At the end of the season Soulama left the club.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

In August 2007, Soulama joined Ghanaian team Asante Kotoko.{{cite web|publisher=Asante Kotoko FC |title=Burkinabe National Goalie joins Kotoko |url=http://www.asantekotokofc.org/Newreel/2007/000807/goalkeeper.htm |date=16 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223065830/http://asantekotokofc.org/Newreel/2007/000807/goalkeeper.htm |archivedate=23 December 2010 }}

In December 2014, Soulama joined Ghanaian team Hearts of Oak SC.

International career

Soulama was a member of the Burkinabé 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals. After about five years absence from the national side he was recalled in 2012 for a 16 May exhibition match against Benin national football team and next month's 2014 FIFA World Cup double-header qualifiers against Congo and Gabon.{{Cite web|url=https://kickgh.com/africa-football/2499|title=Ex-Kotoko and Hearts goalkeeper Soulama Abdoulaye loses Sight - Kickgh.com|website=kickgh.com|access-date=2020-01-25}}

Honours

On 5 July 2008 Soulama was nominated as Goalkeeper of the Year 2008 in Ghana.[http://ghanafoot.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/top-of-the-onetouch-premier-league-class/ Top of the Onetouch Premier League Class]

Death

Soulama died of cancer on 27 October 2017.[https://burkina24.com/2017/10/27/etalons-abdoulaye-soulama-nest-plus/ Etalons : Abdoulaye Soulama n'est plus] {{in lang|fr}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41790655|title=African football mourns death of Burkina Faso goalkeeper Soulama Abdoulaye|date=2017-10-29|work=BBC Sport|access-date=2018-03-28|language=en-GB}}