Karounga Keïta (1941 – 5 March 2023) was a Malian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

official, coach and player in France and Mali, and president of one of Mali's two largest club sides

Djoliba AC Djoliba Athletic Club is a Malian football club and one of the two biggest teams in Mali alongside the Stade Malien. The team is based in the capital city of Bamako. It has its headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes th ...

. Keïta was born in Toukoto, Mali on September 22, 1941.KEITA Karouga
girondins4ever.com (2004–2006) accessed 2 April 2009 Keïta played for former

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 ...

football club ''Sport Afrique'' in the late 1950s. When Mali gained independence, the football leagues were reorganised, and ''Sport Afrique'' was merged with ''Foyer du Soudan'' to form Djoliba AC. Keïta played with the new club from their creation in 1960 to 1962, when he traveled to France to pursue a law degree from the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...

.Karounga Keita re-elected president of Djoliba FC of Bamako
. PANA Press, 31 March 2009 While in Bordeaux he was recruited to play for local professional side

Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It competes in the Championnat National 2 ...

in 1963. He remained as a striker in the French top flight until 1969, making appearances for the Malian National team. He then returned to Mali in 1972, and became coach of his former club. In 2005, he became Vice President of the

Malian Football Federation The Malian Football Federation () is the governing body of football in Mali. Founded in 1960, it joined the Confederation of African Football, CAF in 1963 and has been affiliated with FIFA since 1964. Its first general secretary was Garan Fabou K ...

, the nation's football governing body, and was elected president of Djoliba AC in 1990. Keïta was in 2009 re-elected President of Djoliba to a four-year term. Keïta died on 5 March 2023, at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Karounga 1941 births 2023 deaths Sportspeople from Kayes Region University of Bordeaux alumni Men's association football forwards Malian men's footballers Malian expatriate men's footballers Malian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Ligue 1 players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Mali men's international footballers Djoliba AC players Malian football officials Malian football managers 21st-century Malian people African Games silver medalists for Mali African Games silver medalists in football Competitors at the 1965 All-Africa Games