Ibrahima Koné (born 16 June 1999) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for Spanish club

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

, and the Mali national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

, Koné began playing with hometown side CO Bamako, hiding from his family that he was playing football. Promoted to the first team in 2015, he scored nine goals in his first senior season, the

2016 Malian Première Division The 2016 Malian Première Division was the 51st edition of the highest club level football competition in Mali. It started on 12 March and concluded on 2 October 2016.

Haugesund

In February 2018, Koné signed for Norwegian

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

club

FK Haugesund Fotballklubben Haugesund (), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional association football, football club from the city of Haugesund that plays in the top tier of the Norwegian football league system. FK Haugesund previousl ...

on a contract until 2021. He made his debut abroad on 11 March, starting in a 2–1 away win over

Odds BK Odds Ballklubb, commonly known as Odd, is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from Skien. Originally the football section of a multi-sports club, founded in 1894 nine years after the club's founding. Most sports other tha ...

. Koné scored his first goal for the club on 5 August 2018, netting the opener in a 2–1 win at

Tromsø IL Tromsø Idrettslag () is a Norwegian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Tromsø. They play their home games at the Romssa Arena which has a seating capacity of 6,801. Tromsø play in the Eliteserien. Despi ...

. On 14 July of the following year, he scored a brace in a 5–1 home routing of the same opponent. On 12 January 2020, Koné was loaned to Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

Adana Demirspor Adana Demirspor Kulübü is a multi-sports club based in Adana, Turkey. The football department is the most popular department which relegated to TFF 1. Lig on 16 March 2025 after 4 seasons at the Super Lig. Founded by railway workers of Turk ...

until the end of the season. However, he featured very rarely for the club, all as a substitute, before returning to Haugesund for the second stage of the 2020 campaign.

Sarpsborg 08

On 10 January 2021, Koné was transferred to fellow Eliteserien club

Sarpsborg 08 Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian professional football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. ...

, signing a three-year contract with the club. He was the club's top goalscorer with 11 goals during the season, which included four goals in a 5–0 home routing of

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

on 29 August.

Lorient

On 31 January 2022, Koné signed a 4.5-year contact with French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

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 made his debut for the club six days later, scoring the second in a 2–0 home win over

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

. On 8 April 2022, Koné scored a brace in a 6–2 home success over

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

. He finished the campaign with five goals as the club narrowly avoided relegation.

Almería

On 16 August 2023, Koné signed a five-year deal with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

. On 16 October 2023 Koné underwent ankle surgery to repair a fractured right ankle he suffered during a friendly against

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, knocking him out of play for five months.

Al-Okhdood (loan)

On 30 August 2024, Koné joined

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club

Al-Okhdood Al-Okhdood (Arabic: الأخدود) or Al-Okhdood Archaeological Site, is an ancient South Arabian town located in Najran Province in Saudi Arabia, southeast of the present-day city of Najran. Currently in ruins, the town dates back to at least 5 ...

on a one-year loan from Almería.

International career

Koné made his debut for the Mali national team on 22 July 2017 against

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 win. His next appearance for Mali took place four years later, in a 1–0

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

win over

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

on 1 September 2021. On 12 January 2022, Koné scored the only goal in Mali's opening AFCON game against Tunisia, winning the game 1–0 with a penalty in the 48th minute. This particular game received international attention as referee

Janny Sikazwe Janny Sikazwe (born 1979) is a former Zambian international football referee. He got his big break in 2008 at COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup in South Africa when he was called to replace another referee who had failed a fitness test. On 7 January ...

blew for full-time first in the 85th minute, then again in the 89th minute, creating great controversy as Tunisian coach

Mondher Kebaier Mondher Kebaier (; born 2 April 1970) is a Tunisian association football, football coach and former player who is the manager of Club Africain. Career Formerly a player at hometown club CA Bizertin, Kebaier became manager of the club in 2000, f ...

branded the referees actions "inexplicable".

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Koné goal.''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kone, Ibrahima 1999 births Living people Malian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Mali men's international footballers Mali men's under-20 international footballers 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players CO Bamako players FK Haugesund players Adana Demirspor footballers Sarpsborg 08 FF players FC Lorient players UD Almería players Al-Okhdood Club players Eliteserien players TFF 1. Lig players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Saudi Pro League players Malian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Malian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Malian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in France Malian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Malian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Malian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia 21st-century Malian sportsmen