Kader Abubakar has completed a move to Swiss side FC Thalwil from free agency, returning to competitive football as a confirmed new signing for the 2. Liga Interregional outfit. The Ivorian goalkeeper, 26, joins Thalwil on a free transfer after a spell without a club, with his contract starting on 2026-02-04 and currently running until an undisclosed end date.
The transfer places the Yopougon-born shot-stopper back into the Swiss pyramid, with FC Thalwil competing in the 2. Liga Inter – Gr. 3. Abubakar arrives as a registered goalkeeper for the club, reinforcing a position where experience and stability are at a premium. No transfer fee was involved, with the move recorded as a standard free transfer from “Without Club” to the Zurich-area side.
For Abubakar, this switch continues a long-standing association with Swiss football. Standing 1.88 m tall and preferring his right foot, he has spent his entire senior career in Switzerland after leaving Côte d’Ivoire, building a CV that spans several clubs and tiers. Before becoming a free agent, he was on the books of FC Baden 1897, joining them from FC Dietikon in the 2024–25 season. That move itself followed a mid-season switch from SC YF Juventus Zürich to Dietikon at the start of 2024.
Earlier in his career, Abubakar was contracted to FC Schaffhausen, having arrived there from a previous spell as a free agent in early 2023. Prior to that, he represented FC Wil 1900, a step up that coincided with the peak of his recorded market value. While at Wil, his estimated market value rose to €50,000, a figure he maintained through multiple updates between late 2021 and mid-2022. His most recent recorded valuation, during his time at SC YF Juventus Zürich, was listed at €0, underlining how his stock has fluctuated across different phases of his career.
Abubakar’s path through Swiss football stretches back to 2018, when he moved from FC Dübendorf to FC Dietikon. He later joined FC Blue Stars Zürich, then Grasshopper Club Zürich U21, and subsequently Wil, demonstrating a journey through both developmental and senior environments. Each move has kept him abroad, far from his home country of Côte d’Ivoire, consolidating his status as an Ivorian expatriate player anchored in the Swiss game.
The latest transfer formally ends his period without a club, which began after leaving FC Baden 1897 ahead of the 2025–26 season. With this confirmed move, Abubakar once again has the platform to re-establish himself, this time as the last line of defence for FC Thalwil in the 2. Liga Interregional. The step offers him continuity in a familiar football culture and the chance to rebuild his reputation from a solid base in Switzerland.
