Kalifa Kujabi

Kalifa Kujabi (born 3 May 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie C Group B club Torres, on loan from Frosinone. Born in The Gambia, he also holds Italian citizenship.

Club career

Kujabi left his native The Gambia as a child to flee his country, eventually setting foot in Italy in 2017 and joining a Palermo-based amateur team, Calcio Sicilia, where he was noted by a scout representing Eccellenza Sardinia club Muravera, who eventually signed him.

After winning promotion to Serie D with Muravera and playing two seasons in the Italian amateur top flight, in 2021 he moved to fellow fourth-tier club Torres, being an indisputed regular throughout the 2021–22 club campaign. He was subsequently spotted by a number of professional clubs, including Empoli, Cagliari and Torino before Frosinone eventually agreed on a deal with him.

His signing was however formally confirmed only on 30 March 2023, after he earned Italian citizenship through marriage, due to Italian transfer constraints regarding non-EU players and a long delay caused by bureaucratic issues, including an employee mistakenly spelling his first name on his citizenship request.

On 20 August 2023, Kujabi officially returned to Torres, joining the Serie C club on loan for the rest of the season.

Personal life

In 2021, Kujabi married an Italian woman from Villaputzu, Sardinia, with whom he has a daughter. In March 2023, he officially became an Italian citizen through marriage.