Sékou Koïta (born 28 November 1999) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish Süper Lig club Gençlerbirliği and the Mali national team.
Club career On 8 January 2018, Koïta moved to Wolfsberger AC on loan from Red Bull Salzburg. On 18 December 2019, Koïta extended his contract with Red Bull Salzburg until the summer of 2024.
On 18 February 2021, Koïta was suspended for three months of all club and international football activities by UEFA, following a doping investigation conducted by UEFA on which Koïta tested positive. Koita was prescribed medicine to combat altitude sickness that contained a substance on the banned list. In its verdict, UEFA ruled that in this case there was no intentional violation of doping rules, but the rules stipulate that every player is personally responsible for ensuring that no banned substances enter their body.
On 8 July 2024, Koïta signed a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow in the Russian Premier League.
On 20 August 2025, Koïta was loaned to Gençlerbirliği in Turkey, with an obligation to buy at the end of 2025–26 season.
International career Sékou Koïta won the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in 2015 with the Mali Under-17 team. He scored two goals in this tournament. The Malian selection scores a total of ten goals, and finishes the competition by being undefeated. This is the very first time Mali has won an African championship title.Coupe d’Afrique des Nations des moins de 17 ans : Le retour des héros au bercail, article sur maliweb.net, 4 mars 2015
Sékou Koïta subsequently participates in the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Chile. In the world, he plays seven games, scoring two goals. He scored a goal in the quarterfinals against Croatia, which proved to be the only goal of the match. He then scored a goal against Belgium in the semi-final (victory 3-1). Mali is bowing in the final against Nigeria with two goals to zero.
In 2016, Sékou Koïta competes with Mali for the African Nations Championship held in Rwanda. His presence in this competition was due to the N'Tji Samaké package, in which doctors diagnosed a heart condition the day before the competition.CHAN 2016 : Koïta, un héros appelé par les circonstances, article sur footmali.com, 20 janvier 2016 He plays six games in this tournament, scoring a goal against Uganda in the first round. Mali reached the final of the competition, being defeated by the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
With those under 20 years of age, he participated twice in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, in 2017 and then in 2019. In the 2017 edition in Zambia, he plays three games, scoring a goal against Guinea. With an unfortunate record of one draw, two losses and nine goals cashed, Mali does not exceed the first round of the tournament. In the 2019 edition held in Niger, he plays five games. Mali won the competition this time, beating Senegal in the final, after a shoot-out at the goal.
He is then among the 23 players selected to compete in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt. In this tournament, he plays only one match against Angola. Mali is entering the eighth final against Ivory Coast.
On 13 October 2019, he scored his second goal for the national team in a friendly match against South Africa, which ended in a 2–1 defeat. He later registered his third goal on 17 November 2020 in a 2–1 victory over Namibia during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
On 2 January 2024, he was named in the list of twenty-seven Malian players selected by Éric Chelle for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where the latter drew attention on social media after asking for "3 kuss".
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFC Liefering2017–182. Liga61———612018–192. Liga91———91Total152——00152Wolfsberger AC (loan)2018–19Austrian Bundesliga14500——145Red Bull Salzburg2019–20Austrian Bundesliga1684330—23112020–21Austrian Bundesliga17144380—29172021–22Austrian Bundesliga210000—212022–23Austrian Bundesliga2261020—2562023–24Austrian Bundesliga1973020—247Total76361261500010342CSKA Moscow2024–25Russian Premier League223132——3552025–26Russian Premier League4020—1070Total2631520010425Gençlerbirliği (loan)2025–26Süper Lig27650——326Gençlerbirliği2026–27Süper Lig6100——61Career total164533281501021261
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsMali2016612019612020202021512022112023302024100202510202620Total364
Mali score listed first, score column indicates score after each Koïta goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Sékou KoïtaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1. 19 January 2016 Umuganda Stadium, Gisenyi, Rwanda 1–1 2–2 2016 African Nations Championship 2. 10 October 2019 Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa 1–2 1–2 Friendly 3. 17 November 2020 Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek, Namibia 1–0 2–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 4. 9 June 2022 St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende, Entebbe, Uganda 2–0 3–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Honours Red Bull Salzburg Austrian Bundesliga: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 Austrian Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
CSKA Moscow Russian Cup: 2024–25 Russian Super Cup: 2025
Mali U17 FIFA U-17 World Cup runner-up: 2015
Mali U20 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations: 2019
Mali African Nations Championship runner-up: 2016
References
External links