Hawzah News Agency (Seville, Spain) – In 2007, the landlord of a converted section of a building in the Ponce de Leon area of the Andalusian city was looking to sell, meaning the burgeoning Muslim community would face eviction.

"I helped the Muslim community in Seville a few years back. At the time they were looking to safeguard their place of worship. I helped them to keep their temporary mosque," recalled the former Sevilla striker.

Having conducted due diligence to establish that everything was "legit" there was a condition of anonymity which Kanoute insisted on. However, days later, the news was leaked all over the media.

Kanoute's generosity of $700,000 meant the Fundacion Mezquita de Sevilla remained a place of worship for him and other Muslims in the city.

A larger plot of land in Seville has been identified to construct a three-storey, purpose-built mosque with underground parking.

This time, Kanoute is aiming to raise £250,000 through the Kanoute 4 Seville Mosque campaign for the first purpose-built mosque in Seville in over 700 years.

 "I played there for seven years, and as a Muslim the first thing you do when you arrive in a new city is you find a place to pray," he said.

"The place I found was that mosque, that I call the temporary mosque, that is still there. I found a fantastic community that is shaped of not only immigrants - as we always picture the Muslims coming from outside. It's Spanish or second-generation converts. They're Europeans, they're from Andalusia too.

"They were born as Muslims, and there is a fantastic and beautiful mix between Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese, Malian, and it was just like a beautiful community. That's the mosque I used to go to every Friday and every time I could go.

As donations come in from across the globe, Kanoute's ambition for a new mosque and Islamic centre open to everyone could soon be the newest structure to grace the Seville skyline.

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