Nathan Sinkala

Nathan Sinkala

Personal information
Full name	Nathan Sinkala[1]
Date of birth	(1990-11-22) 22 November 1990 (age 34)
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. "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. "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.