Birama Konaté sacked as Mali women's team coach

Mali’s women’s national team is entering a change of leadership after Birama Konaté was dismissed as head coach. The Malian Football Federation has ended his time with the Aigles Dames and handed temporary responsibility to Bintou Camara. The interim arrangement will remain in place until the federation names a new coach, who may be a man or a woman.

The change follows Mali’s elimination in the first round of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026. That exit came one month before Konaté’s removal, putting the tournament result alongside the federation’s decision to reset the team’s direction. The Aigles Dames’ campaign will therefore be followed by a change on the bench rather than continuity under the coach who led them into the competition.

Konaté had taken charge in September 2025, so the federation’s decision brings his tenure to an end less than a year after his appointment. Abba Mahamane, the federation’s secretary-general, said the organisation wanted to create a new dynamic around the women’s selection and that Konaté would not be part of it. Camara now takes charge pending the appointment of the permanent successor.