Stoppila Sunzu (born 22 June 1989), also known as Stophira Sunzu, is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. He scored the winning penalty kick for Zambia in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final.
Early life Stoppila Sunzu was born in Chingola and is the younger brother of Felix Sunzu and the son of Felix Sunzu Sr, a goalkeeper who was originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Club career
Early career He began his career with Afrisports of Kitwe. He was discovered at a U-16 tournament in Chambeshi, Zambia and he was referred to Afrisports.
He then joined Konkola Blades under a loan arrangement. After representing Zambia at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 19-year-old was invited for trials at the English side Reading. The Championship side was keen on securing him on a longer deal but due to work permit problems the move did not materialise. He signed a loan contract for Châteauroux in September 2008 and after the end of the season on 30 June 2009 returned to Zanaco FC.Transferred to LBC
TP Mazembe In 2010, Sunzu transferred to TP Mazembe of Democratic Republic of Congo. His registration to Zanaco was a loan from Afrisports and there was some initial dispute regarding his move to TP Mazembe but it was eventually resolved. With Mazembe, he won domestic titles as well as the 2010 CAF Champions League. He was sent off in the club's opening 2010 FIFA Club World Cup game. In November 2012, he was shortlisted for the 2012 Africa-based Player of the Year award. In January 2013, he trained with Reading in the English Premier League with a view to being offered a contract. He returned to the 2013 African Cup of Nations without any contract being signed. Sunzu came to Reading on the premise of being a free agent, with his three-year contract expiring in December 2012. Moses Katumbi, president of TP Mazembe, accused Sunzu's handlers of lying to Reading about his contract stating that it does not expire until 2015.
Stints in France and China On 6 January 2014, Sunzu joined French Ligue 1 club Sochaux-Montbéliard along with his teammate Nathan Sinkala. He scored important goals but could not prevent the relegation of the French side to Ligue 2.
On 29 December 2014, Sunzu transferred to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.申花正式宣布苏祖加盟 新赛季套票价格微涨 at news.163.com 29 December 2014 Retrieved 28 July 2015 He made his debut and scored his first goal for Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on 8 March 2015, in a 6–2 victory against city rivals Shanghai Shenxin.中超-恩里克3球卡希尔造乌龙 申花6-2申鑫 at sports.sina.com 8 March 2015 Retrieved 28 July 2015
Sunzu was loaned to Lille for one year on 28 July 2015.申花宣布苏祖加盟法甲里尔 赞比亚铁卫租借一年 at sports.sohu.com 28 July 2015 Retrieved 28 July 2015 In his first season there, he made 16 appearances scoring twice. On 10 July 2016, he joined Lille permanently on a three-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.
Arsenal Tula loans On 3 February 2017, Sunzu signed a loan deal with the Russian Premier League club FC Arsenal Tula until the end of the 2016–17 season. At the time of the signing, Arsenal Tula claimed his player rights still belong to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, and that is the club Arsenal loaned him from, despite earlier reports on him signing a permanent deal with Lille.
In July 2017, he re-joined Arsenal Tula on loan for the 2017–18 season.
Metz
On 9 July 2018, he returned to France, signing a two-year contract with FC Metz. He made his league debut for the club on 30 July 2018, playing all ninety minutes in a 1–0 away victory over Stade Brest. He scored his first competitive goal for the club on 19 October 2018 in a 3–0 league victory over Chamois Niortais. His goal, assisted by Marvin Gakpa, was scored in the 80th minute.
Shijiazhuang Ever Bright In the 2019–20 winter transfer period, Sunzu left Metz to join Chinese Super League side Shijiazhuang Ever Bright.
Jinan Xingzhou On 21 April 2023, Sunzu joined China League One side Jinan Xingzhou.
Return to Cangzhou Mighty Lions On 29 February 2024, Sunzu rejoined Chinese Super League club Cangzhou Mighty Lions (previous name of Shijiazhuang Ever Bright).
Changchun Yatai On 28 June 2024, Sunzu joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai. Two days later, he made his debut for the club in a 5-0 home win against Qingdao Hainiu.
International career Sunzu represented his country at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.Fifa Profile In that tournament, Zambia defeated an Uruguayan side that featured Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani.
He made his full international debut against Botswana in a 2009 African Championship of Nations qualifier.
Sunzu scored the winning penalty of the penalty shoot-out in the final of the 2012 African Cup of Nations against Ivory Coast, which Zambia won 8–7.
In October 2013, due to a disagreement between their club TP Mazembe and the Zambian Football Association over international call-ups, Sunzu and two other players (Nathan Sinkala and Rainford Kalaba) 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 2025, Sunzu was named in Zambia's squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations; this marked his sixth Africa Cup of Nations appearance, thereby equaling the participation record of Zambian players held by Kalusha Bwalya and Kennedy Mweene.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsChâteauroux (loan)2008–09Ligue 2000000——00TP Mazembe2010Linafoot—1100011102011—110101202012—110—1102013———002013–14———00Total—33010340Sochaux2013–14Ligue 11741000——1842014–15Ligue 21000000——100Total2741000——284Shanghai Shenhua2015Chinese Super League13100———131Lille (loan)2015–16Ligue 11211031——162Lille B (loan)2016–17CFA 230————30Lille 2016–17Ligue 140001000—50Arsenal Tula (loan)2016–17Russian Premier League130———101402017–1828210———292Total41210——10432Metz2018–19Ligue 23623030——4222019–20Ligue 11700010——180Total5323040——602Shijiazhuang Ever Bright/Cangzhou Mighty Lions2020Chinese Super League19400———194202122210———232202211000———110Total52610———536Jinan Xingzhou2023China League One21300———213Cangzhou Mighty Lions2024Chinese Super League14100———141Changchun Yatai2024Chinese Super League12100———121202526000———260Total38110———381Career total2782170813302031822
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsZambia20082020099220107020117020121322013902014502015902016802017502018412019102020002021002022002023602024111Total966
Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first.
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 12 August 2009 Brisbane Road, London, England 1–2 1–4 Friendly 2. 25 October 2009 Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 1–0 1–0 2009 COSAFA Cup 3. 11 January 2012 Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 1–0 1–1 Friendly 4. 4 February 2012 Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea 1–0 3–0 2012 Africa Cup of Nations 5. 10 October 2018 Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia 1–0 2–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 6. 23 March 2024 Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe, Malawi 1–0 2–2 (5–6 p) 2024 Four Nations Football Tournament
Honours Zanaco Zambian Premier League: 2009
TP Mazembe Super Ligue: 2011 CAF Champions League: 2010 CAF Super Cup: 2010, 2011
Zambia Africa Cup of Nations: 2012
Individual CAF Team of the Year: 2012
References
External links