Oumar Sako

Oumar Sako's international career took a notable turn in May 2024, when the centre-back switched allegiance from Ivory Coast, the country of his birth, to Niger, citing his heritage. Having earned just one cap for the Ivorians back in 2019, he made his Niger debut on 9 September 2024 in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ghana, and marked the occasion by scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw. Since then he has continued to feature for the squad, going on to collect 16 caps and five goals for his new national side.

Sako's club career has taken him through several countries. He started out at AS Tanda before joining ASEC Mimosas in 2018, where he won consecutive Ivorian Premier Division titles in 2018 and 2019. From there he moved abroad, first to Al-Kharaitiyat SC in Qatar, then to Bulgaria with PFC Beroe Stara Zagora, and on to Austria's LASK in 2022.

His spell at LASK was short. Within months he was loaned out to FC Arda Kardzhali, who made the move permanent in May 2023 after exercising the purchase option in their agreement with the Austrian club. Sako spent less than a year back in Bulgaria before FC Rostov brought him in on loan in January 2024, a deal it converted into a permanent transfer that June on a contract running to 2027.

At Rostov, Sako plays as a right-footed centre-back and wears the number 3 shirt.