Zola Matumona

Football player infobox
playername= Zola Matumona
height = height|meter=1.65
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|11|26
cityofbirth = Kinshasa
countryofbirth = Zaire
currentclub = FC Brussels
clubnumber = 30
position = Midfielder
years = 2001-2002
2003
2004-2005
2006
2006-
clubs = AS Vita Club
FC Saint Eloi Lupopo
AS Vita Club
Primeiro de Agisto
FC Brussels
caps(goals) =
51 (7)
nationalyears = 2002-
nationalteam = Congo DR
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Zola Matumona (born 26 November, 1981) is a Congolese footballer. He is currently playing in Belgium for FC Brussels. He also plays for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A speedy central midfielder with excellent technique and ball control, Matumona walked out of FC Brussels on 2 November 2007 after he accused club chairman Johan Vermeersch of making racist remarks towards him during a crisis meeting at the struggling club. Vermeersch was reported to have told Matumona to "think about other things than trees and bananas". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7076565.stm "Matumona quits club over racism"] BBC Sport, 2007-11-03. Retrieved on 4 November, 2007] The incident also prompted the club's main sponsor, Korean car manafacturer Kia, to withdraw their sponsorship of the Belgian side. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7075242.stm "Kia withdraws FC Brussels deal"] BBC Sport, 2007-11-02. Retrieved on 4 November, 2007] Although on 7 November Matumona agreed to return to FC Brussels after talks with Vermeesch, Kia refused to renew their contract with the club. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7082834.stm "Matumona in FC Brussels U-turn"] BBC Sport, 2007-11-07. Retrieved on 18 July, 2008]

Zola Matumona has since attracted interest from England. After visa problems initially delayed his trial with Birmingham City, [ [http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11988_3469174,00.html "Blues trial for Dogba"] Sky Sports, 2008-04-24. Retrieved on 18 July, 2008] 'Zoe' trained with the club during the 2007–08 season and joined their July 2008 pre-season tour, where he impressed manager Alex McLeish in a 3–1 victory over Czech side FC Viktoria Plzen. [ [http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2008/07/18/zola-matumona-impresses-birmingham-city-boss-97319-21365035/ "Zola Matumona impresses Birmingham City boss"] Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail, 2008-07-18. Retrieved on 18 July, 2008]

References