Cuthbert Malajila (3 October 1985 in Rimuka Kadoma,

Mashonaland West Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.9 million (2022). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province. Demographics Geography Districts Mashonaland West is divid ...

) is a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

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 lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

side

Black Leopards Black Leopards FC is a South African professional association football, football club based in Thohoyandou, Vhembe, Vhembe Region, Limpopo, that plays in the National First Division. History The club was founded in 1983 by business people in ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He also plays for the

Zimbabwe national football team The Zimbabwe national football team (nicknamed ''The Warriors'') represents Zimbabwe in men's international football and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), formerly known as the Football Association of Rhodesia. The tea ...

Career

Club

He started at Chapungu United before moving in 2006 to Highlanders and then to Dynamos Harare. While playing for Highlanders, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a match against Masvingo United, with Highlanders winning the match 4–0. He won the Golden Boot in the top division of Zimbabwean football in 2007. Malajila had a trial at Belgian club

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Their matricule number is 12. The club plays home games at the 29 ...

, but it ended with the club declining to offer him a contract. He returned to Zimbabwe and to Dynamos afterward, and stated that his focus would be on winning the Golden Boot and in helping his club. He stated that his long-term dream was still on earning a transfer abroad. The striker left his native

in summer 2010 and signed a professional contract of 3 years with the

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n side

Club Africain Club Africain (), known as CA for short, is a Tunisian professional football club based in Tunis. The club was founded in 1920 and its colours are red and white. Their home stadium, Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, has a capacity of 60,000 spectators. ...

in August 2010. Malajila became the first Zimbabwean to play professional football in Libya after signing for First Division side Al Akhdar on a six-month loan. On 22 January 2012, he completed a move to South African

side

Maritzburg United Durban City are a South African soccer club based in the city of Durban. Prior to the start of the 2024–25 National First Division, they were called Maritzburg United, and were based in the city of Pietermaritzburg. They were promoted to t ...

after the two parties agreed on a transfer fee for the player. In July 2013, Malajila agreed to join

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South African football league syste ...

. He made his Sundowns debut in the following August against

Bloemfontein Celtic Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club (simply known as Celtic) is a South African soccer club based in Bloemfontein. Bloemfontein Celtic had a large fan base in the Free State and competed in the Premiership before selling their status to Royal ...

and scored his first goal for the club in the same match.

International

As of June 2016, Malajila has made 17 appearances for the Zimbabwe national team. His debut came in 2008 in a

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

qualifier against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. He scored his first goal for Zimbabwe on his second cap against

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, also a 2010 qualifier.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

. ''Scores and results list Zimbabwe's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Club Africain *

North African Cup of Champions The North African Cup of Champions was a tournament designed by the Union of North African Football (UNAF) that puts together the winners of the domestic leagues around North Africa. The tournament contains representatives from Algeria, Libya, Mo ...

(1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

;Dynamos *

Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association. It was founded in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed ''Rhodesia National Football League.'' It is currently sponsored by Delta Beverages ...

(1):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Cup of Zimbabwe The Cup of Zimbabwe (most recently known as the CBZ FA Cup due to sponsorship) is the top knockout tournament of the Zimbabwean football. It was created in 1962 as the Cup of Southern Rhodesia and was known between 1965 and 1980 as the Cup of Rhod ...

(1):

;Mamelodi Sundowns *

(2): 2013–14, 2015–16 *

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of gi ...

(1): 2014–15 *

Telkom Knockout The Carling Knockout Cup is a South African professional soccer knockout competition which comprises the 16 teams in the South African Premiership. The Carling Knockout Cup is the third of the three main cups administered by the PSL along with ...

(1):

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Bidvest Wits fc ( Premier soccer League) 1 2016/17 (Mtn cup ) 1 2016/2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malajila, Cuthbert 1985 births Zimbabwean men's footballers Living people Sportspeople from Mashonaland West Province Zimbabwe men's international footballers Zimbabwean expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Dynamos F.C. players Durban City F.C. (2024) players Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. players Club Africain players Highlanders F.C. players Bidvest Wits F.C. players Black Leopards F.C. players South African Premier Division players Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players Expatriate men's footballers in Tunisia Expatriate men's footballers in Libya Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in Libya Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in South Africa