Nathan Sinkala (born 22 November 1990) is a Zambian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defensive midfielder for South African side Stellenbosch and the Zambia national team.

Club career

Green Buffaloes

Born in Chingola, Sinkala began his career in 2008 with

Green Buffaloes Green Buffaloes Football Club is a Zambia Army-sponsored football team which was founded in 1965 as Zambian Army and later changed to Green Buffaloes FC. Green Buffaloes is one of the most successful club in the history of Zambian football and dom ...

, and spent a loan spell in Israel with Hapoel Kiryat Shmona during 2009, playing for their reserve team. At Green Buffaloes, Sinkala scored three leagues goal during the 2009 season, and two league goals during the 2010 season. He also won the

Zambian Charity Shield The Zambian Charity Shield officially called Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu Charity Shield since 2003 is a season opener match between the champions of the previous Super League season and the holders of the ABSA Cup. If the Super League champions al ...

in 2010.

TP Mazembe and loans

After participating at the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

, Sinkala signed for

TP Mazembe Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional football club based in Lubumbashi. History Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a value of at least $10 ...

on a three-year deal. On 8 January 2014, Sinkala joined French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

side Sochaux-Montbéliard on a loan deal. He later stated that he wished to remain with the club following the end of the loan deal. On 7 July 2014, Sinkala was loaned again from Mazembe, this time to

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...

side

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the ...

Stellenbosch

In January 2020, he moved to Stellenbosch.

International career

Sinkala made his international debut for

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

in 2011, and participated at the

. He was called up to Zambia's 23-man squad for the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

. 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 Stoppila Sunzu (born 22 June 1989), also known as Stophira Sunzu, is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Shijiazhuang Ever Bright. He scored the winning penalty kick for Zambia in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final ...

) were the subject of a Zambian arrest warrant. All three players later had their passports confiscated by Zambian immigration authorities, before being pardoned by the Zambian government. In December 2014 he was named as part of Zambia's preliminary squad for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

. He was injured in his country's opening game in the tournament.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of Andrew Sinkala.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sinkala goal.''

References

1990 births Living people People from Chingola Men's association football midfielders Zambian men's footballers Zambia men's international footballers Ligue 2 players Swiss Super League players Green Buffaloes F.C. players TP Mazembe players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Grasshopper Club Zürich players Stellenbosch F.C. players Africa Cup of Nations-winning players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Zambian expatriate men's footballers Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Zambian expatriate sportspeople in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Expatriate men's footballers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Zambian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Zambian expatriates in South Africa Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa {{Zambia-footy-bio-stub