Gaoussou Diakite, who played on loan for Lausanne-Sport in the Swiss Super League last season, was awarded the title Meilleur Espoir Malien (Most Promising Malian) at the 2025/26 Mali Football Awards, honoring him as the best young Malian talent of the season.

The Mali Football Awards are presented in cooperation with the Malian Football Federation and are among the most prestigious awards in Malian football. That the award for most promising talent went to one of our lads was no surprise: Diakite had a total of 18 goal involvements (12 goals, 6 assists) during his time on Lake Geneva, in addition to making his debut for the senior national team in the autumn and his first brief appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

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The attacking player arrived in Salzburg from Mali in January 2024 and initially made 34 appearances (scoring 13 goals) for our partner club FC Liefering, as well as one appearance for our UEFA Youth League team, before heading out on loan in Switzerland for the 2025/26 season. We can look forward to seeing what the 2026/27 season holds for our youngster.

Gaoussou Diakite honoured as best Malian youth player