Simon Banza

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Simon Banza
Banza with Lens in 2019
Personal information
Full name Simon Bokoté Banza
Date of birth (1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 (age 29)
Place of birth Creil, France
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Al Jazira
Number 9
Youth career
US Chantilly
Liévin
Lens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2019 Lens B 56 (10)
2015–2022 Lens 86 (15)
2017 → Béziers (loan) 11 (0)
2017–2018 → UT Pétange (loan) 21 (13)
2021–2022 → Famalicão (loan) 29 (14)
2022–2025 Braga 59 (32)
2024–2025 → Trabzonspor (loan) 31 (19)
2025– Al Jazira 3 (1)
International career‡
2023– DR Congo 14 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:53, 19 November 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:21, 8 June 2025 (UTC)

Simon Bokoté Banza (born 13 August 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for UAE Pro League side Al Jazira. Born in France, he plays for the DR Congo national team.

Formed at Lens, where he played 98 games and scored 16 goals including in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, he went on to play in Portugal's Primeira Liga for Famalicão and Braga. Shortly after making his senior international debut, he was chosen for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

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Lens

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Born in Creil, Oise, Banza began his senior career with Lens, first with its reserve team in the fourth tier. He scored his first Ligue 2 goal on 6 May 2016, as consolation at the end of a 2–1 loss at Bourg-en-Bresse.[1]

In January 2017, Banza was loaned to Championnat National club Béziers until the end of the season.[2] That August, he moved to UT Pétange of the Luxembourg National Division in the same manner.[3] He was the season's sixth highest scorer with 13 goals, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 home win over Esch on 15 April 2018.[4]

On 24 May 2019, Banza scored the extra-time winner as Lens won 2–1 at Troyes in the second leg of the play-off semi-finals.[5] The following season, he scored seven times as Lens won promotion as runners-up, including two on 3 December 2019 in a 3–0 home win over his local side Chambly.[6] He was sent off 18 days later in a 1–0 win over Niort also at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.[7]

Famalicão

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On 31 August 2021, Banza joined Famalicão in Portugal on loan for the 2021–22 season.[8] On his Primeira Liga debut 12 days later, he scored twice in a 2–2 draw at Moreirense;[9] he added both goals of a win at Santa Clara on 23 October, though he was also sent off.[10] He finished the season as joint seventh top scorer with 14 goals in 29 games,[11] including two on the final day in a 3–2 home comeback win over neighbours Braga to ensure a top-half finish.[12]

Braga

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On 19 July 2022, Banza signed a five-year deal with Braga for a €3 million fee, complete with a buyout clause of €30 million.[13][14] He made his debut on 7 August in the season opener at home to Sporting CP, scoring his club's first goal of a 3–3 draw;[15] five days later he added two more goals in a 3–0 win on his return to Famalicão.[16] In the 2023–24 season, he managed to score 21 goals in the Primeira Liga, equalling his club's top scorer in a single campaign, Chico Gordo in the 1977–78 season.[17]

Trabzonspor

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On 13 September 2024, Banza signed for Turkish club Trabzonspor on a one-year loan deal.[18][19]

Al Jazira

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On 22 September 2025, Banza signed for Emirati club Al Jazira.[20]

International career

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Banza was born in France to DR Congolese parents.[21] On 2 October 2023, he was called up to the DR Congo national team for a set of friendlies.[22] He made his debut 11 days later in a 1–1 draw with New Zealand in Murcia, Spain, playing the final 11 minutes as a substitute for Cédric Bakambu.[23] He was chosen for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations at the start of the following year, in the Ivory Coast.[24]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 30 May 2025[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lens II 2014–15 CFA 26 1 — — — — 26 1
2015–16 13 5 — — — — 13 5
2016–17 10 2 — — — — 10 2
2018–19 Championnat National 2 7 2 — — — — 7 2
Total 56 10 — — — — 56 10
Lens 2015–16 Ligue 2 18 1 — — — — 18 1
2016–17 1 0 2 1 2 0 — — 5 1
2018–19 5 1 0 0 0 0 — 4[c] 1 9 2
2019–20 24 7 1 0 3 1 — — 28 8
2020–21 Ligue 1 34 5 1 0 — — — 35 5
2021–22 4 1 0 0 — — — 4 1
Total 86 15 4 1 5 1 — 4 1 99 18
Béziers (loan) 2016–17 Championnat National 11 0 — — — — 11 0
UT Pétange (loan) 2017–18 Luxembourg National Division 21 13 4 5 — — — 25 18
Famalicão (loan) 2021–22 Primeira Liga 29 14 3 2 1 1 — — 33 17
Braga 2022–23 Primeira Liga 30 11 7 2 3 1 7[d] 0 — 47 14
2023–24 28 21 0 0 2 0 11[e] 2 — 41 23
2024–25 1 0 0 0 0 0 1[f] 0 — 2 0
Total 59 32 7 2 5 1 19 2 — 90 37
Trabzonspor (loan) 2024–25 Süper Lig 31 19 6 3 — — — 37 22
Career total 288 102 23 13 11 3 19 2 4 1 345 121
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, Luxembourg Cup, Taça de Portugal, Turkish Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, Taça da Liga
  3. ^ Appearances in Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs
  4. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ^ Nine appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of match played 8 June 2025[26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
DR Congo 2023 3 0
2024 9 0
2025 2 2
Total 14 2


Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Banza goal.
List of international goals scored by Simon Banza
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 June 2025 Stade de la Source, Orléans, France 14  Madagascar 1–0 3–1 Friendly
2 2–0

Honours

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Braga

Individual

References

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  25. ^ Simon Banza at SoccerwayLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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