Niger’s Almoustapha Mamane Bako builds judo champions
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Almoustapha Mamane Bako, a police officer from Dosso, Niger, began coaching judo in 2022 after a successful career as a competitor.
Bako serves as a brigadier-chef de paix with the National Police’s Intervention Group and directs both the judo section of the Police Sports Association and the Niger national cadet team. He aims to develop national and international judo champions, believing coaches must build athletes both physically and mentally. Bako’s dedication has yielded results.
His teams consistently win medals in competitions, and one of his students, Abdoul Madjid Ibro, became an African judo champion at the 2026 African Cadet and Junior Judo Championships in Casablanca. Bako himself began practicing judo as a child, inspired by watching training sessions, and joined the national police in 2009. Before becoming a coach, Bako competed for the Police Sports Association, earning a bronze medal at a Maradi tournament in 2010.
He earned his first dan black belt in 2013, and continued to achieve higher levels of certification. An elbow injury in 2018 led him to pursue coaching certifications, culminating in an international-level judo coaching diploma in 2022, which allows him to teach the sport globally.
