Hatadou Sako

Hatadou Sako
Sako in 2017
Personal information
Born (1995-10-21) 21 October 1995
Tournan-en-Brie, France
Nationality
  • Senegalese
  • French
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Győri ETO KC
Number 99
Senior clubs
Years Team
2011–2016
 Noisy Le Grand
2016–2020
 OGC Nice
2020–2024
 Metz Handball
2024–
 Győri ETO KC
National team 1
Years Team
2015–2021
 Senegal
2023–
 France 88 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Senegal
African Games
2015 Republic of the Congo Team
African Championship
2018 Brazzaville
Representing  France
Olympic Games
2024 Paris Team
World Championship
2023 Denmark/Norway/Sweden
2025 Germany/Netherlands
1 National team caps and goals correct
as of 3 January 2025

Hatadou Sako (born 21 October 1995) is a Senegalese/French female handball player for Győri ETO KC and the French national team.[1] She has previously played for the Senegalese national team.

She is known for her wild gestures during matches, playing mind games with the opposition, and appealing to the crowd.[2]

Career

Sako started her career at Noisy-le-Grand handball. In 2016 she joined OGC Nice Côte d'Azur. In 2019 she was selected for the French League all-star team.[3]

In 2020 she joined Metz Handball.[4] Here she won the 2022, 2023 and 2024 French Championship and Cup. She also won bronze medals at the EHF Champions League 2021/22.

For the 2024-25 season she joined Hungarian Győri ETO KC to replace Silje Solberg-Østhassel.[5] Here she won the 2025 Hungarian Championship and the EHF Champions League.

National team

Senegal

Sako first played for the Senegalese national team. At the 2015 African Games she won bronze medals. At the 2016 African Women's Handball Championship Senegal reached the semifinals, but were disqualified from the tournament for using ineligible player Doungou Camara, since she has already played for the French national team. Tunisia faced Angola in the final and Cameroon automatically occupied the third place.[6][7]

Sako won a silver medal at the 2018 African Championship.[8]

She was part of the Senegalese team at the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship.[9] Senegal finished 19th at the occasion.

France

In 2023 she switched alligiance to France.[10]

Her first major international tournament for France was the 2023 World Women's Handball Championship where France won gold medals.[11] She was however mostly second choice to Laura Glauser. At the 2024 Olympics she won silver medals.[12]

For the 2025 World Championship she won bronze medals losing to Germany in the semifinal and beating Netherlands in extra time in the third place playoff.[13] She was the French first choice in goal due to an injury to Laura Glauser.[14]

Personal life

Born in France, Sako is of Senegalese and Malian descent.[15]

Achievements

Individual awards

References

  1. ^ "Hatadou Sako Profile". handlfh.org. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Hun skal stoppe Danmark: En utrolig udstråling" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. 10 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  3. ^ "#LFH #LigueButagazEnergie - Une rentrée de marque" (in French). FFHandball. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Hatadou Sako, future gardienne du temple" (in French). Moselle Sport. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  5. ^ Jacob Nalerius (21 December 2023), Done deal: Györ secures Solberg's replacement, GoHandball, retrieved 12 December 2025
  6. ^ "Handball/African Cup: Senegal disqualified over irregular use of athlete". ANGOP. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Handball/AfroCup: Senegalese player Camarâ in irregular situation - organisers". ANGOP. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Angola women are African champions again". ihf.info. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  9. ^ "2019 Women's World Handball Championship; Japan – Team Roster Senegal" (PDF). International Handball Federation. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Hatadou Sako, une nouvelle arme dans les buts pour les Bleues" (in French). L'Equipe. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Team cumulative statistics France" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Paris 2024: Medallists" (PDF). olympics.com. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Extra-time thriller sees France clinch podium place". international Handball Federation. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  14. ^ ""They will have no choice but to say: Hatadou is really, really, really strong"". international Handball Federation. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  15. ^ "Mondial féminin de handball: qui est Hatadou Sako, le nouveau rempart des Bleues?". RMC Sport. 6 December 2023.
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