Sékou Mara (born 30 July 2002) is a French 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 club

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Club career

Bordeaux

Mara made his professional debut for

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

in a 2–0

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

loss to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on 10 February 2021. He scored his first professional goal in a 1–0

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 ...

win over

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

on 2 May 2021. By scoring this goal, he became the youngest player to score a league goal for Bordeaux in almost 14 years.

Southampton

On 21 July 2022, it was confirmed by Bordeaux that they had accepted an offer from

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

for Mara, and that the deal was subject to a medical. On 25 July 2022, Southampton confirmed that Mara had signed a four-year deal with the club. On 13 August 2022, Mara made his first

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

appearance in Southampton’s 2–2 draw with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

after he replaced Jan Bednarek. On 11 January 2023, Mara scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 quarter final

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

victory against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. On 8 April 2023, Mara scored his first Premier League goal in a 1–4 defeat against Manchester City. On 13 April 2024, he came on as a substitute for

Ché Adams Ché Zach Everton Fred Adams (born 13 July 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Torino and the Scotland national team. Adams began his senior career in non-league football with Oadby Town and Ilkeston before mo ...

in the 80th minute of a 3–2 victory against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Shortly afterwards, Mara struck

Ryan Porteous Ryan Thomas Porteous (born 25 March 1999) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Watford and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Hibernian and spent a spell on loan at Edinburgh City, a ...

in an unpunished off-the-ball incident. On 16 April 2024, the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

gave Mara a three-match suspension for violent conduct.

Strasbourg

On 21 August 2024, Mara joined

on a five-year contract.

International career

Mara is a youth international for France. He has played matches at under-16, under-17, under-20, and under-21 level.

Personal life

Mara's mother,

Audrey Crespo-Mara Audrey Crespo-Mara (born 8 July 1976) is a French journalist and television presenter. Life and career Crespo-Mara was born in Meaux in the department of Seine-et-Marne. She graduated from the Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse in 1997 ...

, is a French journalist and television presenter, and his father, Aliou Mara, is a Senegalese entrepreneur.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Maurice Revello Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a football tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams comp ...

Golden Boot:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Silver Ball:

Best XI:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mara, Sékou 2002 births Living people Footballers from Paris French men's footballers Men's association football forwards Paris Saint-Germain FC players AC Boulogne-Billancourt players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Southampton F.C. players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Championnat National 3 players Ligue 1 players Premier League players English Football League players France men's youth international footballers French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England French sportspeople of Senegalese descent Black French sportspeople 21st-century French sportsmen