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 1.5 million (2012). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province. Districts Mashonaland West is divided into 7 districts: * Chegutu ...

) is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

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 ...

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) ** Sm ...

for

Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

side

Black Leopards Black Leopards FC is a South African football club based in Thohoyandou, Vhembe Region, Limpopo that plays in the National First Division. History The club was founded in 1983 by business people in the Vhembe Region. In 1998 the club was t ...

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

. 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 te ...

Career

Club

He started at

Chapungu United Chapungu United is a Zimbabwean football club based in Gweru currently playing in the Zimbabwe Division 1 (Central Region). Their home stadium is Ascot Stadium. They used to play in the top division in Zimbabwean football, but were relegated t ...

before moving in 2006 to Highlanders and then to

Dynamos Harare Dynamos Football Club (also referred to as The Glamour Boys or De-Mbare) is a Zimbabwean professional football club based since 1963 at Rufaro Stadium, Mbare, Harare. The team currently participates in Zimbabwe's top-tier, the Premier Soccer ...

. 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 wi ...

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 Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

club

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Division ...

, 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 ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n side

Club Africain Club Africain ( ar, النادي الإفريقي) is a Tunisian football club based in Tunis that competes in the Tunisian Championship. It fields several sports teams, including football, handball, basketball, swimming and volleyball. The foo ...

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 Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League. Honours *First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08 *First Division Championship Play-offs: 20 ...

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 Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football ...

. He made his Sundowns debut in the following August against

Bloemfontein Celtic Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club (simply known as Celtic) is a South African amateur football club based in Bloemfontein that competes in the ABC Motsepe League, the third tier of the South African football league system. Bloemfontein Celtic h ...

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 , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

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 20 ...

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

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

, 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, M ...

(1):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

;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 * Cup of Zimbabwe (1): 2011 ;Mamelodi Sundowns *

(2): 2013–14, 2015–16 *

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...

(1): 2014–15 *

Telkom Knockout The Telkom Knockout was a South African professional association football, football knockout competition which comprised the 16 teams in the South African Premier Soccer League. The competition was established in 1982 and was first known as the D ...

(1):

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malajila, Cuthbert 1985 births Zimbabwean footballers Living people Sportspeople from Mashonaland West Province Zimbabwe international footballers Zimbabwean expatriate footballers Association football forwards Dynamos F.C. players Maritzburg United F.C. 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 footballers in Tunisia Expatriate footballers in Libya Expatriate soccer players in South Africa Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in Libya Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in South Africa