Nathan Sinkala
Personal information
Full name Nathan Sinkala[1]
Date of birth (1990-11-22) 22 November 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Chingola, Zambia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 ZESCO United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Green Buffaloes
2009 → Hapoel Kiryat Shmona (loan)
2012–2020 TP Mazembe
2014 → Sochaux (loan) 15 (0)
2014–2015 → Grasshoppers (loan) 7 (0)
2020–2022 Stellenbosch 53 (5)
2023– ZESCO United
International career‡
2011– Zambia 52 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 September 2023

Nathan Sinkala (born 22 November 1990) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for ZESCO United and the Zambia national team.[2]

Club career

Green Buffaloes

Born in Chingola,[3] Sinkala began his career in 2008 with Green Buffaloes,[4] and spent a loan spell in Israel with Hapoel Kiryat Shmona during 2009, playing for their reserve team.[5] At Green Buffaloes, Sinkala scored three leagues goal during the 2009 season,[6] and two league goals during the 2010 season.[7] He also won the Zambian Charity Shield in 2010.[8]

TP Mazembe and loans

After participating at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Sinkala signed for TP Mazembe on a three-year deal.[9]

On 8 January 2014, Sinkala joined French Ligue 1 side Sochaux-Montbéliard on a loan deal.[10] He later stated that he wished to remain with the club following the end of the loan deal.[11] On 7 July 2014, Sinkala was loaned again from Mazembe, this time to Swiss Super League side Grasshopper Club Zürich.[12]

Stellenbosch

In January 2020, he moved to Stellenbosch.[13]

Zambia

In December 2022 he was reported as signing a six-month deal with SC Kfar Kasem in Israel. However, he returned to Zambia and ZESCO United in January 2023.[14][15]

International career

Sinkala made his international debut for Zambia in 2011,[16] and participated at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.[17][18] He was called up to Zambia's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[19]

In October 2013, due to a disagreement between their club TP Mazembe and the Zambian Football Association over international call-ups, Sinkala and two other players (Rainford Kalaba and Stoppila Sunzu) were the subject of a Zambian arrest warrant.[20] All three players later had their passports confiscated by Zambian immigration authorities,[21] before being pardoned by the Zambian government.[22]

In December 2014 he was named as part of Zambia's preliminary squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[23] He was injured in his country's opening game in the tournament.[24]

Personal life

He is the younger brother of Andrew Sinkala.[4]

Career statistics

Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sinkala goal.
List of international goals scored by Nathan Sinkala[16]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 September 2013 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana  Ghana 1–2 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 6 June 2014 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States  Japan 2–0 3–4 Friendly
3 27 May 2015 Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng, South Africa  Ghana 3–0 3–0 2015 COSAFA Cup

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 December 2015. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2015.
  2. ^ Nathan Sinkala at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Profile". TP Mazembe.
  4. ^ a b "Njobvu:Dip in form due to fatigue". Zam Foot. 22 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Kachepa on the Ball: Transfer & rumour mill news". Zam Foot. 8 July 2009.
  6. ^ "Zambia 2009". RSSSF.
  7. ^ "Zambia 2010". RSSSF.
  8. ^ "Buffaloes win Charity Shield". Zam Foot. 6 March 2010.
  9. ^ Ed Aarons (15 March 2012). "Bwalya hoping for Zambian exodus to Europe". BBC Sport.
  10. ^ "Zambian pair Sinkala and Sunzu sign for Sochaux". BBC Sport. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  11. ^ Oluwashina Okeleji (23 April 2014). "Nathan Sinkala keen to stay on at Sochaux". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Sinkala until the end of the year" (in German). gcz.ch. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Sinkala joins Stellenbosch". The Mast Online.
  14. ^ "Zambian legend returns to Israel on a short term deal". ZamFoot. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Nathan Sinkala joins ZESCO United". ZamFoot. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Nathan Sinkala". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  17. ^ Kennedy Gondwe (10 January 2012). "Zambia's Given Singuluma dropped for Nations Cup". BBC Sport.
  18. ^ "Teenage striker to feature for Zambia in African Cup". iZimbabwe.co.zw. 11 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012.
  19. ^ "Nations Cup 2013: Champions Zambia name final 23". BBC Sport. 9 January 2013.
  20. ^ Ian Hughes (15 October 2013). "Zambia internationals: Arrest warrants issued for trio". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  21. ^ Kennedy Gondwe and Ian Hughes (19 October 2013). "Zambia confiscate Kalaba, Sinkala and Sunzu's passports". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  22. ^ Kennedy Gondwe (22 October 2013). "Kalaba, Sunzu & Sinkala pardoned by Zambian government". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  23. ^ "Nations Cup 2015: Katongo overlooked for Zambia squad". BBC Sport. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  24. ^ "Afcon 2015: Zambia's Sinkala ruled out of tournament". BBC Sport. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.


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