Aissata Traoré : to be like Ajara or Kgatlana
The Eagles of Mali are currently playing in the Aisha Buhari Cup in Nigeria. A six-nation tournament with the other participants being host Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco and Cameroon.
Aïssata Traoré is one of the best assets of the Mali's team. The En-Avant Guingamp player in the French League, who was propelled onto the international scene thanks to the 2018 TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations, has continued to improve. With Mali, collective and individual ambitions are now higher.
Speaking to CAFOnline.com, the 24-year-old forward projects herself and shares her dreams.
As an international player, how do you feel about your return to the Mali team?
I know I have to bring what I can bring to the team. We have a very talented team and I just have to make a contribution.
How do you appreciate this participation in the Aisha Buhari Cup?
It is an honor for us to participate in this competition. Not all African teams participate. Since we are here, we are very proud and honored. So thank you to the first lady for this initiative.
What are the opportunities offered by this tournament?
First of all, this competition gives us a warm-up. This will allow our team to prepare as well as possible since we will be playing two international friendlies. This is a good thing. We needed it and here we are, we will prepare for the next deadlines.
It's a good preparation for the qualifiers for the next Africa Cup of Nations. It matters a lot for the playoffs of this upcoming competition.
You played against the Nigerian national team, what lessons did you learn from it?
We learned a lot of things after this loss; that you have to stay focused from start to finish, not just 83 or 85 minutes. Because afterwards we were no longer lucid. You have to keep lucidity throughout the match, concentration, and coolness too.
What will change in the next match against Morocco?
They are very different teams from each other. Nigeria is the summit and it is not to denigrate Morocco. It was just a very complicated game for us (against Nigeria) and now we're moving on. We faced Nigeria and we just have to project ourselves forward. We will calmly prepare for the [next] match, we will see what happens afterwards. But we are not going to give them opportunities. We are here to win and we will do it inchallah.
What is your goal against Morocco?
It's not about me, it's about the whole team. But I want to make a good performance against this Moroccan team. We aim to win this game, especially not to lose it.
What did participating in the last AWCON in Ghana bring to your team?
We were too proud, too happy with our performance since it was the first time that the national women's team of Mali has climbed so high in such a competition. Everyone had opportunities after the AWCON. There were departures from Mali, girls who left to explore other horizons in Europe and even in the Gulf countries. It opened up a lot of opportunities for us. And we plan to do the same or more even at the next [edition].
What have you learned over the past few years?
I have learned a lot in recent years, especially with my club. On the tactical-technical level and even on the mental level. But I still have a lot to learn too. We’re working on it and we’ll get better inchallah.
Are your ambitions similar to those of the other teams participating in the tournament?
We have well-defined objectives, both individual and collective ambitions. We can be like Ajara and Kgatlana and why not go beyond them ?! We are ambitious and objective, we will also achieve the objectives we have set.
How are you preparing for the next round of the TotalEnergies AWCON qualifiers against Guinea?
We will take it step by step and when the time comes you will see a new face of the Mali national team.
Photos@AishaBuhariCup