# Mamadou Doumbia (footballer, born 2006)
**Mamadou Doumbia** (born 2006) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a center-forward for [EFL Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/efl-championship) club Watford and the Mali national team. He is 1.92 m tall, left-footed, and joined Watford from the Black Star academy in Bamako in 2024 after scoring at both the U17 Africa Cup of Nations and the [FIFA U-17 World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-u-17-world-cup).[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539) • [2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2006, Mali[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539) |
| Position | Centre-forward (attacker); left-footed; 1.92 m[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539) • [3](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia) |
| Club | Watford, joined 1 July 2024, contract to 30 June 2029[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539) • [4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68346693) |
| Watford record | 60 appearances, 8 goals in all competitions (2024 to present)[5](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia/career) |
| Youth highlight | Hat-trick in Mali's 3-0 win over Uzbekistan at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where Mali finished third[6](https://www.fifa.com/es/tournaments/mens/u17worldcup/indonesia-2023/articles/mamadou-doumbia-mali-uzbekistan-hat-trick-copa-mundial-indonesia-2023) • [2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre) |
| Mali caps | 7 senior caps, 1 goal[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539) |
| Market value | 4.00 million euros, last changed 28 May 2026[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539) |
## Youth career and the 2023 U-17 World Cup
Doumbia came through the Black Star academy in Bamako, the club listed as his side at the 2023 [Africa Cup of Nations](https://www.edgepedia.org/africa-cup-of-nations) provisional squad stage.[2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre) • [7](https://www.cafonline.com/media/szzh20fx/afcon-2023-provisional-squads-list.pdf) In youth international football for Mali's under-17s he scored 8 goals in 9 caps, including four goals at the U17 Africa Cup of Nations and four more at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia.[2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre)
His breakout tournament performance came on 10 November 2023, when he scored a hat-trick in Mali's 3-0 group-stage win over [Uzbekistan](https://www.edgepedia.org/uzbekistan) at Manahan Stadium in Surakarta.[6](https://www.fifa.com/es/tournaments/mens/u17worldcup/indonesia-2023/articles/mamadou-doumbia-mali-uzbekistan-hat-trick-copa-mundial-indonesia-2023) Mali's young squad, described as the young Aiglonnets, went on to finish third at the tournament.[2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre) After the Uzbekistan match his teammate Ange Martial Tia called him "our Erling Haaland", a comparison the French-language report itself limited to his aerial ability, speed over long distances, and finishing.[2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre)
## Watford
Watford announced the signing in February 2024, two days after Doumbia turned 18, on a six-year deal running from 1 July 2024; the club said the Mali youth international would first join its young teams.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68346693) • [2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre) His first competitive appearances came in the 2024/25 League Cup, in which he played twice for 43 minutes.[5](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia/career)
**Progression by season.** In the 2024/25 Championship he made 19 league appearances, 17 of them starts, and scored 2 goals in 971 minutes.[5](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia/career) • [8](https://fbref.com/en/players/034084d1/Mamadou-Doumbia) His role expanded in 2025/26: 33 Championship appearances, 1,676 minutes, and 5 goals, with 16 of those appearances as a substitute.[5](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia/career) In 2026/27 he has taken part in all eight of Watford's Championship matches, starting five, and scored once, in a 2-1 home win over Preston North End on 8 September 2026 in which Watford came from behind; Edo Kayembe scored the other goal.[3](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia) • [9](https://www.efl.com/news/2026/september/08/west-ham-move-top-on-bowen-brace-as-southampton--watford-and-sheffield-united-also-win-in-championship/) Across all competitions his Watford total stands at 60 appearances and 8 goals.[5](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia/career)
## International career with Mali
Doumbia was named in Mali's senior squad for the March 2024 FIFA-window friendlies against [Mauritania](https://www.edgepedia.org/mauritania) and Nigeria, one of three bronze medalists from the 2023 U-17 World Cup, alongside [Ibrahim Diarra](https://www.edgepedia.org/ibrahim-diarra-footballer) and Bourama Koné, to receive a first call-up from coach Éric Sékou Chelle.[10](https://matchmali.ml/article/football/fenetres-fifa-le-mali-croise-la-mauritanie-te-le-nigeria) His first senior minutes on record came on 19 November 2024, playing 28 minutes as a substitute in a 6-0 AFCON qualifying win over Eswatini; earlier in that qualifying campaign he was on the matchday squad without playing.[11](https://fbref.com/en/players/034084d1/matchlogs/nat_tm/summary/Mamadou-Doumbia-Match-Logs) He was subsequently on the matchday squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers and was an unused substitute in Mali's group-stage draw with Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[11](https://fbref.com/en/players/034084d1/matchlogs/nat_tm/summary/Mamadou-Doumbia-Match-Logs) He has 7 senior caps and 1 international goal.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539)
## Playing style
Scouting descriptions from his transfer emphasize aerial ability, unusual speed for his height, particularly over long distances, and efficiency in front of goal.[2](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre) His statistical profile at Watford matches a target-man role used in rotation: in 2025/26 he took 44 shots in 33 Championship matches while starting only about half of them, and in 2026/27 he has alternated starts with substitute appearances behind the first-choice striker.[12](https://footystats.org/players/mali/mamadou-doumbia) • [3](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia)
## Other players with the same name
The name is shared by several contemporaneous professionals, which makes statistics easy to conflate. Transfermarkt lists a Canadian center-back born 2002, a Malian midfielder born 2004 who played for Royal Antwerp and later Al-Ittihad with 7 Mali caps, and a retired Malian defender born 1995 with 8 caps.[13](https://www.transfermarkt.com/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/904364) • [14](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/mahamadou-doumbia/154805) • [15](https://www.transfermarkt.com/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/366120) The 2006-born striker of this article is distinguished by his 2006 birth date, his Watford club, and his left-footed forward profile.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539)
## References
1. [Mamadou Doumbia – Spelersprofiel, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.nl/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/1101539)
2. [Mali : une révélation du Mondial U17 débarque en Angleterre (officiel), Afrik-Foot](https://www.afrik-foot.com/mali-mamadou-doumbia-u17-club-transfert-watford-angleterre)
3. [Mamadou Doumbia | Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia)
4. [Mamadou Doumbia: Watford sign Mali striker on six-year deal, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68346693)
5. [Mamadou Doumbia Career History | Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/players/5249/mamadou-doumbia/career)
6. [El maliense Doumbia, aclamado por su hattrick | Malí 3-0 Uzbekistán | Copa Mundial Sub-17 de la FIFA Indonesia 2023, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/es/tournaments/mens/u17worldcup/indonesia-2023/articles/mamadou-doumbia-mali-uzbekistan-hat-trick-copa-mundial-indonesia-2023)
7. [AFCON 2023 provisional squads list, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/media/szzh20fx/afcon-2023-provisional-squads-list.pdf)
8. [Mamadou Doumbia Stats, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/players/034084d1/Mamadou-Doumbia)
9. [West Ham move top on Bowen brace as Southampton, Watford and Sheffield United also win in Championship, EFL](https://www.efl.com/news/2026/september/08/west-ham-move-top-on-bowen-brace-as-southampton--watford-and-sheffield-united-also-win-in-championship/)
10. [FENËTRES FIFA : Le Mali croise la Mauritanie te le Nigéria, Match Mali](https://matchmali.ml/article/football/fenetres-fifa-le-mali-croise-la-mauritanie-te-le-nigeria)
11. [Mamadou Doumbia National Team Match Logs, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/players/034084d1/matchlogs/nat_tm/summary/Mamadou-Doumbia-Match-Logs)
12. [Mamadou Doumbia Stats, FootyStats](https://footystats.org/players/mali/mamadou-doumbia)
13. [Mamadou Doumbia (born 2002) player profile, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.com/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/904364)
14. [Mahamadou Doumbia, joueur de football, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/mahamadou-doumbia/154805)
15. [Mamadou Doumbia (born 1995) player profile, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.com/mamadou-doumbia/profil/spieler/366120)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of Africa › West African footballers › Footballers of Senegal, Mali, and Guinea*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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