Francisco Mota da Costa (born 16 February 2005) is a Portuguese handball player for Sporting CP and the Portuguese national team.[1][2] He is also known by his nickname Kiko Costa.

Costa also plays beach handball.

Career

Costa started playing handball at Colégio dos Carvalhos, a private school south of Porto together with his brother, Martim Costa.

In 2019 he joined the youth team of FC Gaia, a club from his home town.

After a year he joined FC Porto. In the first season he played 3 matches for the first team, but otherwise he played for the second team in the Andebol B league.

In the last half of the 2020/21 season he was loaned to A.A. Avanca.

From the 2021/2022 onwards he played with his older brother on Sporting CP, which was coached by his father, Ricardo Costa.

National Team

Costa debuted for the Portuguese national team in a World Cup qualification match against Netherlands in the same match as his brother. After losing the home match 30:33, Portugal won 35:28 and secured the qualification.[3]

His first major international tournament was the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship, where Portugal finished 13th. In 2025 he was part of the Portugal team that reached the semifinals of the World Championship for the first time in history. They lost the semifinals to Denmark and the third place playoff to France.[4]

Honours

Sporting CP

Individual awards

Personal life

He is the younger brother of handball player Martim Costa. His father, Ricardo Costa, is a former handball player and the coach of Sporting CP.[8]

References

  1. ^ "MOTA DA COSTA, FRANCISCO". EHF. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Seleção A Masculina". portal.fpa.pt. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Netherlands/Portugal". EHF. 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  4. ^ Orup Kristensen, Oliver (2 February 2025). "Sindssyg afslutning på dramatisk bronzekamp" [Insane finish to bronze match] (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  5. ^ "Gidsel named MVP, as 2025 IHF Men's World Championship All-Star team announced". IHF. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b "FIVE NATIONS REPRESENTED IN M20 EHF EURO 2022 ALL-STAR TEAM". EHF. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Germany dominate final to claim M19 EHF EURO 2021 crown". EHF. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  8. ^ "OFICIAL: Ricardo Costa é o novo treinador do andebol do Sporting". maisfutebol.iol.pt. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Mota_da_Costa
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