Mayingila Nzuzi Mata (born 17 May 1994), also known as Kévin Nzuzi Mata, is a 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 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

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

club Shenzhen Juniors. Born in France, he represented the DR Congo U20 national team.

Early life

Nzuzi Mata was born in the

18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements, or administrative districts, of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as '' ...

to parents who were both born in

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

. He acquired

French nationality French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', (Latin for "right of blood") according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nat ...

on 6 December 2000 through the collective effect of his parents'

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

Club career

Nzuzi Mata began his career with

Chamois Niortais Chamois Niortais Football Club (; often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) are a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwest ...

, where he made five appearances in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

during the 2014–15 season. He went on to join

FC Chambly Football Club Chambly Oise, commonly known as Chambly, is a French professional football club based in Chambly in the Hauts-de-France region. Their home stadium is the Stade Walter-Luzi in the town, and they compete in the Championnat National ...

on a one-year deal in the summer of 2015, after being released by Niort. In June 2016, he signed a professional contract with

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

to play with the reserve team in

Championnat de France Amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2 ...

. In the summer of 2017 he moved to

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system be ...

and in 2018 he joined

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

. In July 2019, he signed for

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

. There, he made 17 appearances in which he failed to score. In August 2020, it was announced that N'Zuzi Mata had signed a one-year contract with the option of an additional year with

Belgian First Division B The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the ...

club RWDM. In January 2024, he signed for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club

Nantong Zhiyun Nantong Zhiyun Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Rugao, Jiangsu, that competes in . Nantong Zhiyun plays its home matches at the Rugao Olympic Sports Center, located within Rugao. The club was founded on 13 March ...

International career

Nzuzi Mata played a friendly match with DR Congo national U20 team in October 2014.

Career statistics

References

1994 births Footballers from Paris Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Naturalized citizens of France French sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Black French sportspeople Living people French men's footballers Men's association football forwards Chamois Niortais FC players FC Chambly Oise players AC Boulogne-Billancourt players USL Dunkerque players Red Star FC players R.W.D. Molenbeek (2015) players Tuzlaspor players Nantong Zhiyun F.C. players Shenzhen Juniors F.C. players Esenler Erokspor footballers Ligue 2 players Championnat National players Championnat National 2 players Challenger Pro League players TFF 1. Lig players Chinese Super League players China League One players French expatriate men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey French expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in China French expatriate sportspeople in China Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in China 21st-century French sportsmen {{France-footy-forward-1990s-stub