Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa - Football player

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (born 15 May 1989)  was born in Bangui, Central African Republic. He is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back. Yanga-Mbiwa joined Montpellier as a youngster player in 2005 and made his professional football career debut on February 2007 in a 1–0 away beat to Bastia, starting the match and playing the entire 90 m, picking up a yellow card. 

Following the season, he signed his 1st professional contract agreeing to a 3-year deal until 2010. He was officially aid to the senior squad and was assigned the number three shirt.

In August 2015, he transferred to French club Lyon for €8 million with a possible €2 million bonus fee. In May, he scored two to help take Lyon past Monaco, ending his 1st season with 2 goals. He ended his contract with Lyon on 1 July 2020 with 72 matches played and two goals scored for the club in five years.

Yanga-Mbiwa has dual citizenship with France and the Central African Republic, meaning he can represent both. He was also qualified for Cameroon. He did not appear on either nation's youngster team. 

In 2009, he was called up to the France under-21 team by coach Eric Mombaerts for their UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2011 qualification matches against Malta on 9 October and Belgium on 13 October. On 15 May 2012, Yanga-Mbiwa had been named to France's preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2012. However, on 29 May, coach Laurent Blanc announced his final squad and Yanga-Mbiwa was not included.