Malian midfielder Abdoulaye Diarra seals transfer to Moldova’s FC Sheriff Tiraspol

Malian midfielder Abdoulaye Diarra has sealed a transfer move to FC Sheriff Tiraspol, who play in the Moldovan National Division for undisclosed period of time.

A statement on the club’s official website confirmed the arrival of Diarra by saying: “Young Malian player, Abdoulaye Diarra, has become a player of FC Sheriff. The player went through the whole pre-season training with the team and signed a cooperation agreement.

“Abdoulaye was born on January 6, 2006. He signed his first professional contract at the beginning of the year with Malian club of Sports Association Bakaridjan. FC “Sheriff” staff is glad to welcome Abdoulaye and wishes him success in the shirt of our club.”

Sheriff, is a professional club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, that plays in the Liga, the top tier of Moldovan football. Founded in 1997 as Tiras Tiraspol and rebranded the following year as Sheriff, it quickly established itself within Moldovan football.

“The Wasps” recorded their debut in the first league in the 1998-99 season, when they also won their first trophy, the Moldovan Cup. They have since amassed 21 championship titles, 13 Cups, and seven Super Cups in all competition records.

On the European stage, Sheriff has reached the group stage of the UEFA Europa League on six occasions and in 2021 became the first ever Moldovan side to reach the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, where they would go on to notch a win against eventual champions Real Madrid before eventually exiting the competition.

They play their home matches in yellow and black kits at the Sheriff Arena, to which the club moved in 2002 and which has a capacity of 12,746. Diarra has already played for the Mali national team since 2015, managing eight appearances and scoring two goals.