Sikou Niakaté (born 10 July 1999) is a 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 le ...
who plays as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
club
S.C. Braga. Born in France, he plays for the
Mali national team.
Personal life
Sikou Niakaté was born in
Montreuil, France. He holds
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Malian nationalities.
Club career
Niakaté made his professional debut for
Valenciennes FC in a 1–0
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 ...
loss to
Nîmes Olympique on 31 July 2017, making his appearance at the age of 18.
On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, Niakaté joined
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
Guingamp on a five-year contract. He was immediately loaned back to Valenciennes for the remainder of the
season.
On 12 August 2021, he joined
Metz on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
On 28 June 2022, Niakaté moved on loan to
Braga in Portugal. Braga held an option to buy his rights at the end of the loan for €1.8 million, and if he played in half of the official games in the season, the option would become an obligation to buy. On 7 June 2023, Braga announced the triggering of the clause, with Niakaté signing a five-year contract.
On 20 September 2023, Niakate’s 88th minute
own goal prompted SC Braga
2–1 home defeat against
SSC Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Camp ...
in SC Braga’s first
UEFA Champions League game in a decade.
International career
Niakaté was called up to the
France U17 national team in December 2015, becoming the first player in
Évreux FC 27 history to do so.
Niakaté was called up to the
Mali national team for the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...
match against
Gabon.
He officially decided to represent the home country of his parents, Mali, in 2023. He made his debut for the African nation in a 4–0 victory of Mali against
South Sudan during the
2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches will be organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the 34th edition of the international men's football champi ...
, resulting in their qualification for the 2024 tournament.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Braga
*
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...
:
2023–24
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Niakate, Sikou
1999 births
Living people
Malian men's footballers
Footballers from Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis
Black French sportspeople
French men's footballers
Men's association football central defenders
France men's youth international footballers
Mali men's international footballers
Valenciennes FC players
En Avant Guingamp players
FC Metz players
S.C. Braga players
Ligue 2 players
Ligue 1 players
Primeira Liga players
Malian expatriate men's footballers
French expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Malian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
French expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
2023 Africa Cup of Nations players