Top clubs Stade Malien and Djoliba AC are expected to fight for the title as Mali’s premier league campaign gets underway.
Oliver Ochieng, Marabou News Agency
Stade Malien de Bamako are top of the 14-teams Mali Premier League table after collecting maximum points in the first two games of the 2026/2027 Premier League campaign, two points ahead of rivals Djoliba AC.
The Whites beat Real Bamako 1-0 in the opening fixture of the new season on November 01, before following it up with an identical 1-0 win against FC Diarra a week later.
Moctar Cissé, nicknamed “Soldat” scored for his team against FC Diarra in the 66th minute, earning him the Man of the Match award.
Speaking post-match, Cissé expressed delight at the performance saying their target is to win both the premier league and Mali Cup titles this season.
“I am very happy with this victory, especially after being named Man of the Match. This is an honor that not everyone gets to enjoy. I would like to commend all my teammates for their efforts, as well as our management and supporters for their continued support,” the striker said.
“We hope to win both the Mali Cup and the league title this year. I can see that the entire team is giving it their all and that we are playing very good football. We will continue to work hard to achieve our objectives.”
Réné Franck Sother Essomba, Stade Malien head coach said they are still struggling with scoring goals but expressed confidence that they will find a solution as the season continues.
“All I can say is that we had a fixture schedule that reflected our standing. On the opening match day, we faced Réal. It was like a final, and we knew that the game against Diarra would be another final. So, we prepared accordingly and gave everything we had to secure the victory,” the coach said.
“We have to acknowledge that it was a hard-fought win. However, I would like to commend Diarra, a very good team with plenty of character, which managed to maintain its level of performance throughout the 90 minutes without losing intensity. As you know, we are coming off an elimination from the Champions League.”
“Following that setback, we needed to reshuffle things. We therefore took two to three weeks to carry out some important work and make the necessary adjustments. We are confident that, gradually, this work will start to pay off. As you know, African football often faces challenges when it comes to attacking efficiency and finishing. Thankfully, today, Moctar Soldat finally got off the mark. We hope that his teammate Simpara will also find his scoring touch soon. Gradually, we will achieve what our fans expect from us: scoring goals.”
With 24 premier League titles, Stade Malien is one of the most successful clubs in Mali, only behind Djoliba AC with 25.
Djoliba are the defending champions while Stade Malien last won the league title in the 2024/2025 season.
Editor: George Mutero
Marabou News Agency
