Modibo Maïga (born 3 September 1987) is a Malian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a striker for Al-Jeel and the Mali national team. He has also played for Stade Malien,

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional footb ...

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy S ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

. A full international for Mali since 2007, he was part of their squads at the four

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

tournaments, helping them to third place in the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

editions.

Club career

Raja Casablanca

Born in

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

, Maïga began his career with Stade Malien in his home country aged 15 in 2003, later moving to Moroccan club Raja CA Casablanca where he spent his late teenage years, winning several competitions, including the

Arab Champions League The Arab Club Champions Cup ( ar, كأس العرب للأندية الأبطال, french: Ligue des Champions Arabe) is an annual regional club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by el ...

and the Moroccan League.

Le Mans

Maïga made a move to French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

side

aged 20 in 2007. Playing alongside

Gervinho Gervais Yao Kouassi (born 27 May 1987), known as Gervinho, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Greek Super League club Aris and the Ivory Coast national team. Gervinho began his career at ASEC Abidjan and Toumod ...

and

Stéphane Sessègnon Stéphane Sessègnon (born 1 June 1984) is a Beninese professional footballer who plays for Sirens F.C. in the Maltese Premier League. He is a Benin international, having represented the nation at the 2008, 2010 and 2019 editions of the Af ...

, Maïga established himself in French football. Despite Le Mans' relegation to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

, Maïga scored 15 goals in 88 games. He signed a four-year contract in 2010 with Sochaux and took the number 15 shirt.

Sochaux

During the 2010–11 campaign, Maïga struck up a 30-goal partnership with Brown Ideye, each scoring 15 goals. Between them, they scored over half of

's league goals. Maïga and Brown were assisted by playmaking duo Marvin Martin and

Ryad Boudebouz Ryad Boudebouz ( ar, رياض بودبوز; born 19 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays for Saudi First Division League club Al-Ahli. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a right winger. A former France youth ...

as Sochaux qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. On 12 August 2011, Maïga announced to his club that he would never again play for Sochaux because he wanted a transfer to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. He refused to play against

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Nancy, but opted to play against

Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...

and

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

. He and teammate Kévin Anin were refused a move away from the club and were later criticised by supporters, who temporarily withdrew their support in response to poor performances and the attitude of Anin and Maïga. On 18 October, several newspapers, including ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' and '' L'Equipe'', reported that Maïga was close to a deal to move to Newcastle in the January 2012 transfer window and on 13 December, it was reported that he had passed a medical in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

ahead of his move, with the transfer fee believed to be in the region of £7 million. On 16 December, however, ''L'Equipe'' reported that Maïga had failed his medical with Newcastle.

West Ham United

On 18 July 2012, after playing out the remainder of the 2011–12 season with Sochaux, Maïga signed on a four-year contract with an option for a further two years, at an undisclosed fee. Maïga made his debut for West Ham on 18 August 2012, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Carlton Cole in a 1–0 home win against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. On 28 August, Maïga scored on his full home debut against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

in the second round of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

to make the score 2–0 following

Nicky Maynard Nicholas David Maynard (born 11 December 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Macclesfield. He began his career at Crewe Alexandra, following over a decade in the club's Academy, and scored on his senior debu ...

's opening goal. He scored his first league goal on 20 October against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in a 4–1 win at Upton Park. His only other league goals for West Ham in his first two seasons with the club came in a 3–1 win against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

—West Ham's first against the club since 2003, on 1 December 2012—and in a 3–3 draw with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, with a 20-yard shot on 20 December 2013. On 18 December 2013, Maïga scored the winning goal for West Ham in a 2–1 away win against rivals

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

in the

, marking his first goal in over a year for the club. His form brought criticism from some West Ham supporters but he was defended and praised for his most recent efforts by then-manager

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...

. He returned to the West Ham squad from his season-long loan with

for the beginning of the 2015–16 season. He played in four of West Ham's six 2015–16 Europa League qualifying games, against

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara) is a city in the central region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous parishes: Saint Helen, Saint Joseph the Worker, Ou ...

and

Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spent th ...

, without scoring. On 9 August, he played in his first

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

game of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for

Diafra Sakho Diafra Sakho (born 24 December 1989) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Nancy. Sakho began his career in the lower divisions of French football, with Metz and on loan at Boulogne, before joining West Ham ...

in a 2–0 away win against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. In the third Premier League game of the season, on 22 August against

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

, Maïga scored West Ham's third goal in a 3–4 defeat in what was to be his last game for the club.

Queens Park Rangers (loan)

On 31 January 2014, Maïga joined

on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. He made his debut on 1 February in a draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. Coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

, Maïga scored in the 79th minute to make the score 3–3, the final score. It was his only goal for QPR.

Metz (loan)

In August 2014, Maïga joined French club Metz on a season-long loan with an option to make the loan a permanent transfer in the summer of 2015. He scored his debut goals for Metz on 1 November, scoring twice in a 3–2 home win against Caen. On 4 April 2015, Maïga scored a hat-trick for Metz as they defeated

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

3–2. Maïga scored nine league goals in 25 games for Metz whilst on loan, while they finished 19th in Ligue 1 and were relegated to Ligue 2.

Al-Nassr

In August 2015, Maïga signed a two-year contract for Saudi Arabian club

Al-Nassr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yello ...

for an undisclosed fee.

Al-Ittihad Kalba

In October 2016, Maïga signed for UAE Arabian Gulf League club

Al-Ittihad Kalba Ittihad Kalba Football Club ( ar, نادي إتحاد كلباء لكرة القدم‎) is a Association football, football club in Kalba, United Arab Emirates. History Ittihad Kalba was established in 1972 when two clubs ''(Al Shabab)'' and '' ...

after his release from Al-Nassr in July 2016.

Ajman Club

In September 2017, Maïga signed for UAE Arabian Gulf League club

Ajman Ajman ( ar, عجمان, '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ʿymān) is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Located along the Persian Gulf, it is ...

for a free transfer.

Hajer

On 3 September 2021, Maïga joined Saudi club Hajer. On 23 January 2023, Maïga was released from his contract.

Al-Jeel

On 24 January 2023, Maïga joined Saudi club Al-Jeel.

International career

Maïga plays for

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

, making his debut on 17 November 2007 in a 2–3 friendly defeat to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

at the

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Yves-du-Manoir (officially Stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir, also known as the Stade olympique de Colombes, or simply Colombes to the locals) is a rugby, track and association football stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France, Paris, Fran ...

Colombes Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the 53rd largest city in France. Name The name Colombes comes from Latin ''columna'' (Old French ''colombe'') ...

, France, as a 59th-minute substitute for

Souleymane Dembélé Souleymane Dembélé (born 3 September 1984) is a Malian Association football, football player, currently playing for Stade Malien. International He was part of the Mali national football team, Mali U-23 team who finish third in group stage o ...

. His first goal came on 21 June 2009 in

World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

, equalising in a 3–1 victory over

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

at the Stade du 26 Mars in Bamako. He wore the number 10 shirt at the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange (telecommunications), Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial association football, football championship of Africa (Confederat ...

, playing all three games of a group stage elimination in Angola. He was called up again to the Mali squad for

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

, but in February 2012 whilst in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

participating in the competition, he contracted

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and was hospitalized in

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

. He missed the remainder of the tournament, in which his nation came third. The following year, he again helped the team to the same position in the tournament. At the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, Maïga headed the equaliser in a 1–1 draw against

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in the final Group D game, but the opponents advanced on draw of lots.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 4 June 2016. Mali score listed first, score column indicates score after each Maïga goal.''

Honours

Mali *

bronze:

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maiga, Modibo 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Bamako Malian footballers Malian expatriate footballers Mali international footballers Stade Malien players Raja CA players Le Mans FC players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players West Ham United F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players FC Metz players Al Nassr FC players Al-Ittihad Kalba SC players Ajman Club players

Modibo Maiga Modibo or more correctlyMoodibbo in Fula or Fulfulde Orthography is a given name in some Fulɓe or Fulani regions, while in some regions it's used as a form of respect which means a learned scholar. Others are named moodibbo after one's parents or g ...

Hajer FC players Al Jeel Club players Ligue 1 players Premier League players Saudi Professional League players UAE Pro League players

Saudi First Division League players Saudi Second Division players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players English Football League players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Expatriate footballers in Morocco Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Thailand Malian expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Malian expatriate sportspeople in France Malian expatriate sportspeople in England Malian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Malian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Association football forwards 21st-century Malian people