Bessam

Bessam
Personal information
Full name	Cheikh El Khalil Moulaye Ahmed
Date of birth	4 December 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth	Zouérat, Mauritania
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	FC Nouadhibou
Senior career*
Years	Team
2013–2014	ACS Ksar
2014–2015	JS Kabylie
2015–2016	CS Constantine
2016–2017	Al-Ansar
2017–2018	Al-Ahly Tripoli
2018	FC Nouadhibou
2018–2019	AS Gabès
2019–2020	Al-Khaleej
2020–	FC Nouadhibou
International career‡
2013–2021	Mauritania
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 December 2021

Cheikh El Khalil Moulaye Ahmed (Arabic: شيخ مولاي أحمد; born 4 December 1987), more commonly known as Bessam, is a Mauritanian professional footballer who most recently played for FC Nouadhibou.^[3] He also plays for the Mauritania national team.

Club career

ACS Ksar

Bessam started his career with the club ASC Ksar until he was called to represent the national team by the "then" coach Patrice Neveu. He scored on his first game with the national team, and made an assist in the 2–0 win over Senegal that Qualified the Mauritanian team to the 2014 African Nations Championship in South Africa.

JS Kabylie

In May 2014, Bessam signed a two-year contract with Algerian club JS Kabylie.^[4] On 16 August he made his JS Kabylie debut, away to MC Oran, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 victory.^[5] He scored the first goal for Mauritania in a 2–0 victory over Senegal.

International career

Bessam started his successful national career by helping his country to qualify to the 2014 African Nations Championship in South Africa where they were disqualified from the groups stage.^{[citation needed]}

International goals

Scores and results list Mauritania's goal tally first.^[2]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	20 July 2013	Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania	Senegal	1–0	2–0	2014 African Nations Championship qualification
2.	5 January 2014	Tuks Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa	Mozambique	?	3–2	Friendly
3.	5 January 2014	Tuks Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa	Mozambique	?	3–2	Friendly
4.	22 January 2014	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa	Gabon	1–0	2–4	2014 African Nations Championship
5.	22 January 2014	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa	Gabon	2–1	2–4	2014 African Nations Championship
6.	20 April 2014	Stade George V, Curepipe, Mauritius	Mauritius	2–0	2–0	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
7.	5 September 2015	Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania	South Africa	3–1	3–1	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
8.	13 October 2015	Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania	South Sudan	1–0	4–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.	17 November 2015	Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia	Tunisia	1–1	1–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	25 March 2016	Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania	Gambia	1–0	2–1	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
11.	25 March 2016	Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania	Gambia	2–1	2–1	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
12.	24 March 2017	Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania	Benin	1–0	1–0	Friendly
13.	30 November 2021	Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Tunisia	1–3	1–5	2021 FIFA Arab Cup