Réal Bamako

In 1966, a club barely six years old stood on the edge of continental football's biggest prize. AS Réal Bamako reached the final of the African Cup of Champions Clubs and fell to Stade d'Abidjan 4–5 on aggregate.

The club was born of a merger, when Racing Club de Bamako and Avenir de Bamako joined forces on 22 September 1960. Whoever named the new side looked to Madrid, then the dominant force in Europe, and borrowed the name outright.

Le Réal built its reputation through the 1960s and 1980s, winning the Malian Première Division and Coupe du Mali repeatedly, and doing the double in 1969 and 1980. Salif Keïta came through the club before his move to Saint-Étienne, where he was named African Footballer of the Year in 1970. More recently, the JMG Football Academy in Bamako has fed a stream of talent through the club, among them Yves Bissouma.

Réal plays its derbies against Djoliba AC and Stade Malien, both fellow Bamako clubs, and either fixture is known locally as the Derby de Bamako. Home matches are played at the Stade Modibo Kéïta, a 35,000-seat ground distinct from the larger Stade du 26 Mars across town.