There are numerous football academies globally and even in Africa, and Mali isn't left behind. This article looks at some of the football academies present in Mali.
Football is beautiful in all ramifications, but it takes a lot of work to be good. This is why football academies/clubs are set up globally to train any football enthusiast to be good at the sport.
Here in Mali, there are more football clubs than academies. Still, the beautiful thing is that these football clubs have training centers like Academies, so you don't have anything to worry about. This article lists some top six football clubs in Mali which helps train young football lovers to become professionals.
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Stade Malien de Bamako
Stadium Malien de Bamako was formed in 1960 by the merger of Jeanne d'Arc and Espérance de Bamako. Stade Malien is their main competitor and is only successful a little less than Djoliba AC of Bamako.
Stade is headquartered in the Sotuba area on the eastern industrial edge of the city but plays its home games at Stade 26 mars in the city center. It developed a sizable training facility there in 2006, where a packed stadium is currently being built.
The youth and development clubs at Stade Malien have their headquarters here. Having participated in the Under 17 Club Championships in Spain in 2007, the U-17 has succeeded abroad. The football team from Mali, known as Real Bamako, or Association Sportive du Real Bamako, is based in Bamako.
They compete in the Malian Première Division, the national football league. The name of their home field is Stade Modibo Keta.
Salif "Domingo" Keta (1963–1967), who later won three championships and the Ballon d'Or Africain (1970) in Saint-Étienne, France, was one of Real Bamako's most productive players.
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Centre Salif Keita
The Bamako-based Jeunesse Sportive Centre Salif Keita (JS CSK) is a football team in Mali. Former players of the 1995-founded team include Seydou Keita, Mahamadou Diarra, and Cheick Diabaté. In addition, Salif Keita, a legendary Malian football player, established the club as a training ground for aspiring players.
The inaugural African Golden Ball, which bears its name, inspired the creation of the Salif Kéta Center in 1993. At the time the club was founded, Keta outlined three objectives for it:
- Enabling aspiring professional players from Mali to realize their dreams.
- Affect the concept and style of the game played in Mali.
- Develop top-notch athletes for Mali's various national teams.
Since outstanding players for the Malian national team, such as Seydou Keita and Mahamadou Diarra, have come from CSK, these goals have been met, according to Keta.
The Stadium Centre Salif Keita is the team's home field and competes in the first tier of Malian football. Blue and yellow are the team's colors. [2]
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Olympique de Bamako
The Bamako-based football team for Mali is Club Olympique de Bamako, founded in 1960. They compete in Mali's premier football level. Stadium 26 Mars is their home field. Moussa Konaté served as the club's president as of the 2010 campaign.
The club has won the Malien Cup thrice (2000, 2002, 2011) and Runner-ups twice (1974, 2008). This is due to their excellent training facilities and centers.
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Olympique Lyonnais Reserves and Academy
The reserve team and academy of the French club Olympique Lyonnais are known as the Olympique Lyonnais Reserves & Academy. The highest division in which the team is permitted to compete in the Championnat National 2, which is the fourth division of French football.
Six times, Lyon has won the amateur Championnat de France reserves championship. They were victorious in 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2010.
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Les Etoiles Du Mande
On December 6, 2015, the football academy "Les Etoiles du Mandé" was established. Forty kilometers from Bamako on the way to Siby in Badougou Nafadji. Its goal is to train young African footballers for the professional game and to conduct tryouts for professional teams.
It makes player advancement easier and demonstrates to the world the extraordinary talent found on the African continent. The Mande Stars Football Academy employs skilled and knowledgeable technical professionals to train the various age groups, including U13, U15, U17, and U20.
The academy has four fields: two synthetic fields, one sand field, and one clay field. In addition to dormitories, a kid's classroom, a game room, and an eating area, there is one for entertainment.