# Junior Kabananga

Junior Kabananga Kalonji (born 4 April 1989) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was a member of DR Congo national team.

## Club career

Born in Kinshasa, Kabananga began his early career with FC MK Etanchéité.

### Anderlecht

He made his senior debut for Belgian club Anderlecht in the 2010–11 season, although Anderlecht later admitted negligence when transferring the player from Democratic Republic of the Congo after a forged document was used.

### Loans to Beerschot and Roeselare

He moved on loan to Germinal Beerschot in January 2011, and also spent the 2012–13 season on loan at Roeselare.

### Cercle Brugge

He signed a permanent two-year contract with Cercle Brugge in July 2013.

### Astana

In June 2015 he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Kazakhstan Premier League side FC Astana. In June 2016 he returned from the loan. On 27 July 2017, Kabananga signed a new two-year contract with Astana.

### Karabükspor(loan)

On 1 February 2016, Kabananga joined Kardemir Karabükspor on loan until the end of the 2015–16 Turkish season.

### Al-Nassr and Astana(loan) return

On 31 January 2018, Kabananga signed a $2 million two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Nassr. He returned on loan to Astana in September 2018.

### Suzhou Dongwu

On 10 June 2021, Kabananga joined China League One side Suzhou Dongwu.

### Mioveni

In August 2022, Kabananga joined Liga I club Mioveni. He left the club in January 2023.

### Maktaaral

In February 2023, Kabananga signed a contract with Kazakh club Maktaaral.

## International career

Kabananga made his international debut for DR Congo in 2014. In January 2015 he was named in the final squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 21 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Roeselare (loan) | 2012–13 | Belgian Second Division | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 5 |
| Cercle Brugge | 2013–14 | Belgian Pro League | 34 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 7 |
| Cercle Brugge | 2014–15 | Belgian Pro League | 30 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 8 |
| Cercle Brugge | Total | Total | 64 | 13 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 69 | 15 |
| Astana | 2015 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 5 |
| Astana | 2016 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 13 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 10 |
| Astana | 2017 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 31 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 23 |
| Astana | Total | Total | 57 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 38 |
| Kardemir Karabükspor (loan) | 2015–16 | TFF First League | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 2 |
| Al-Nassr | 2017–18 | Saudi Professional League | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 4 |
| Astana (loan) | 2018 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 |
| Astana (loan) | 2019 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 4 |
| Astana (loan) | Total | Total | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 4 |
| Qatar | 2019–20 | Qatar Stars League | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 2020 | Belarusian Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Suzhou Dongwu | 2021 | China League One | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 3 |
| Mioveni | 2022–23 | Liga I | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 1 |
| Maktaaral | 2023 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 232 | 59 | 18 | 6 | 44 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 297 | 73 |

### International

    As of match played 9 September 2018
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| DR Congo | Year | Apps | Goals |
| DR Congo | 2014 | 3 | 1 |
| DR Congo | 2015 | 8 | 0 |
| DR Congo | 2017 | 9 | 3 |
| DR Congo | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| DR Congo | Total | 22 | 4 |
    Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Junior Kabananga :
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 15 October 2014 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Ivory Coast | 2–1 | 4–3 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2. | 16 January 2017 | Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon | Morocco | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 3. | 20 January 2017 | Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon | Ivory Coast | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 4. | 24 January 2017 | Stade de Port-Gentil, Port-Gentil, Gabon | Togo | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations |

## Honours

Astana
* Kazakhstan Premier League: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
* Kazakhstan Cup: 2016
* Kazakhstan Super Cup: 2019
DR Congo
* Africa Cup of Nations bronze: 2015
Individual
* Africa Cup of Nations top scorer: 2017
* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the tournament: 2017