Ayub Timbe Masika (; born 10 September 1992 in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

) is a Kenyan

professional footballer Association football is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a professi ...

who currently plays as a winger or a forward for Kenya national team.

Club career

Early career

Masika was born on 10 September 1992 in

Pumwani Pumwani is an estate of Nairobi. In 2005 it had an estimated population of 29,616. The Pumwani Maternity Hospital is located in Pumwani. It is the largest public maternity hospital in Kenya. Many Kenyan freedom fighters are known to have lived ...

, an estate in

, Kenya.Ayub Masika – Profile
– Soccerway.com. He moved through several academies in Kenya, including that of Ligi Ndogo, before moving to the Anderlecht Academy from the JMJ Youth Academy in 2006 at the age of 13, where he stayed for two years before moving to the

Beerschot A.C. Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...

(then

Germinal Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...

) academy in 2008.

Genk

In May 2010, Masika signed a 2-year deal with

Genk Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...

from Germinal Beerschot. He played for the club's reserve team until he signed a new 4-year contract with the club in June 2011. He made his debut for the club when he came on in the 82nd minute for Nadson in a 1–1 draw against Zulte Waregem on 15 January 2012. He got his first assist for the club on his second appearance during their 5–0 win over

Oud-Heverlee Leuven Oud-Heverlee Leuven (), also called OH Leuven or OHL, is a Belgian football club from the city of Leuven. It was created in 2002 from the merger of three clubs, '' F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee'', whose registration number it inherited, '' ...

on 29 January 2012 when he delivered the ball to

Christian Benteke Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Belgium national team. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in ...

for the fifth goal of the match. He scored his first goal for Genk in their 2–0

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

play-off round The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

win against Swiss opponents

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league s ...

, in the 88th minute, on 30 August 2012 at the

Cristal Arena The Cegeka Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Genk, Belgium. It is currently used mostly for association football matches and is the home ground of K.R.C. Genk. The stadium holds 23,718

Lierse

On 1 September 2014, Masika was loaned Lierse from Genk for 2 seasons, with an option to buy at the end of the loan. He made his debut for the side in a 2–2 draw in the league against Anderlecht on 13 September, coming on in the 68th minute for Wanderson. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 September, opening the score in a 4–0

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

win over

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The mun ...

. In July 2016, Lierse signed Timbe on a permanent three-year deal.

Beijing Renhe

Masika joined

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

side

Beijing Renhe Beijing Chengfeng Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that last participated in the Chinese League One under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Fengtai District, Beijing and their hom ...

in February 2017. He scored eight goals in his first season to help win promotion to the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

. The following season, he was loaned back to the second tier to play for

Heilongjiang Lava Spring Heilongjiang Ice City Football Club (), previously known as Heilongjiang Lava Spring Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the China League One division under licence from the Chinese Football Association ...

, though he also scored seven goals in 14 games in the top flight for Beijing Renhe. On 31 January 2020 – transfer deadline day in England – Masika joined EFL Championship side

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

on loan until the end of the season.

International career

Masika was meant to play in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary round match against

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

on 29 February 2012, but could not fly back to Kenya as he had club commitments with Genk that day. However, he made his international debut for

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

on 16 October 2012, coming on as a substitute for Thika United forward Francis Kahata in the 61st minute. Kenya lost the match 2–1. Masika was called up to the Kenya national team once again for a friendly against

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

to be played on 6 February 2013, but refused to play, claiming that the

Football Kenya Federation The Football Kenya Federation (abbreviated as Football Kenya or FKF) is the governing body of football in Kenya. The FKF organizes the Kenyan Premier League, the Kenyan Women's Premier League, FKF Division One, FKF Women Division One and Kenya ...

owed him money from his last appearance for the team against

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. He made his return to the side on 18 May 2014, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Comoros. Masika scored his first goal for the national team 12 days later in the second leg, scoring a free kick to secure a 2–1 aggregate win for the Harambee Stars and a second round match-up against Lesotho.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Kenya's goal tally first.''

Honours

;Genk *

: 2012–13 Belgian Cup, 2012–13 ;Buriram United *

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

: 2021–22 *

Thai FA Cup The Thai FA Cup ( th, ไทยเอฟเอคัพ), known officially as The Football Association of Thailand Cup, is a football cup competition in Thailand. Thai FA Cup is an annual knockout association football competition in men's domest ...

: 2021–22 *

Thai League Cup The League Cup ( th, ไทยลีกคัพ) is a football cup competition in Thailand. It is also known as Toyota League Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was re-formed during the 2010 domestic football league season in Thailand and runs alon ...

: 2021–22

References

External links

soka.co.ke

fostats.com
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masika, Ayub 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Nairobi Kenyan footballers Association football forwards Ligi Ndogo S.C. players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Beerschot A.C. players K.R.C. Genk players Lierse S.K. players Beijing Renhe F.C. players Heilongjiang Ice City F.C. players Reading F.C. players Vissel Kobe players Ayub Masika Belgian First Division A players Belgian First Division B players China League One players Chinese Super League players Kenya international footballers Kenyan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in England 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players