Enock Mwepu

Enock Mwepu (born 1 January 1998) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Enock Mwepu

Mwepu with Red Bull Salzburg in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Enock Mwepu[1]
Date of birth	(1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Lusaka, Zambia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	NAPSA Stars
2017	Kafue Celtic
2017–2021	Red Bull Salzburg	81	(11)
2017–2018	→ FC Liefering (loan)	23	(6)
2021–2022	Brighton & Hove Albion	24	(2)
Total		128	(19)
International career
2017	Zambia U17
2017–2018	Zambia U20	10	(3)
2017–2022	Zambia[3]	23	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Having begun his career in his native Zambia, Mwepu signed for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2017^[4] before moving Brighton & Hove Albion in 2021. Mwepu represented and captained the Zambia national team. On 10 October 2022, he was forced to retire following the discovery of a hereditary heart condition.^[5]

Club career

Early career

Mwepu's career began with Kafue Celtic in Lusaka before being identified with the 2013 Airtel Rising Stars.^[6] During the 2015–16 season, Mwepu had little game time with Power Dynamos football club of Copperbelt; this precipitated into a move to NAPSA Stars at the end of the 2017 season.^{[citation needed]}

Red Bull Salzburg and loan to FC Liefering

In June 2017, Mwepu joined Red Bull Salzburg and was loaned out to Salzburg's feeder club FC Liefering who play in Austrian Football First League.^[4] During the 2019–20 season, Mwepu established himself amongst Salzburg's starting eleven. He made his debut in the UEFA Champions League during a 4–3 loss to Liverpool at Anfield.^[7] On 18 December 2019, Mwepu extended his contract with Salzburg until summer 2024.^[8]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 6 July 2021, he joined Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on a four-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.^[9] He scored in a 3–1 pre-season friendly win at Luton Town on 31 July.^[10]

He made his competitive debut on 14 August in the opening game of the 2021–22 season away at Burnley where he was replaced by Adam Lallana at half time of the 2–1 victory at Turf Moor.^[11] On 24 August, Mwepu assisted Jakub Moder's first Albion goal in the second round EFL Cup away fixture at Cardiff City where Albion won 2–0.^[12] He scored his first goal for Brighton on 27 October, putting them back level to 2–2 before a penalty shootout loss – in which his penalty was saved – away at Leicester City in the EFL Cup.^[13] Three days later, he scored his first league goal for the Sussex side, inspiring Brighton's comeback with a stunning 25–yard strike in a 2–2 away draw against Liverpool.^[14]

Mwepu had a slow start to 2022 and in general to his time in Sussex due to injury and illness, thus had limited playing time.^[15] On his first start since his return from injury Mwepu scored and made an assist for Trossard's opener in the 2–1 away win at Arsenal on 9 April, to help Brighton end their seven-match run without a victory.^[16] Graham Potter spoke that Mwepu has a "slight injury in his groin which probably means that will be him for the rest of the season," after picking up the knock during the 3–0 away victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on 30 April.^[17][18] His debut season with the "Seagulls" was marred by injuries though he had made a positive impact and at the club's end of season awards Mwepu won Goal of the Season for his strike at Liverpool in October.^[19] Mwepu managed to recover in time to appear as a substitute in the last game of the season, a 3–1 home victory over West Ham United, with Brighton achieving their highest top flight finish in ninth place.^[20]

On 10 October 2022, Mwepu retired from professional football at the age of 24 after being diagnosed with a rare hereditary heart condition.^[5]

International career

In 2014 Mwepu was part of the Zambia national under-17 team that represented the country at the 2015 African U-17 Championship, where Zambia played Niger, Nigeria and Guinea from group A.^[21] Mwepu is known for his versatility in the field of play as demonstrated at the 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Zambia,^[22] where he scored a goal and was among the best substitutes of the tournament.^[23]

Mwepu scored his first international goal for Zambia in an AFCON Qualifier against Algeria on 2 September 2017 at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, a match which Zambia won 3–1.^{[citation needed]}

Coaching career

After retiring from professional football due to his heart condition, Brighton announced on 30 December that Mwepu had been appointed to serve in the role of under-9s coach in their academy from January 2023.^[24]

Personal life

His younger brother Francisco Mwepu is also a professional footballer.^[25]

In January 2023, it was confirmed that Mwepu was in hospital in Zambia after a suspected heart attack, coming just a few months after being forced to retire from football due to a hereditary heart condition.^[26] Brighton announced he was receiving precautionary checks as a result.^[27]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[28]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Liefering	2017–18	2. Liga	23	6	—		—		—		23	6
Red Bull Salzburg	2017–18	Austrian Bundesliga	8	1	2	0	—		0	0	10	1
	2018–19		19	1	3	1	—		6[a]	0	28	2
	2019–20		25	4	4	1	—		7[b]	0	36	5
	2020–21		29	5	6	5	—		10[c]	0	45	10
	Total		81	11	15	7	0	0	23	0	119	18
Brighton & Hove Albion	2021–22	Premier League	18	2	1	0	2	1	—		21	3
	2022–23		6	0	0	0	0	0	—		6	0
	Total		24	2	1	0	2	1	0	0	27	3
Career total			128	19	16	7	2	1	23	0	169	27

1. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League

International goals

Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mwepu goal.^[29]

List of international goals scored by Enock Mwepu

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2 September 2017	National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia	Algeria	3–1	3–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	16 June 2019	Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco	Morocco	3–2	3–2	Friendly
3	12 November 2020	National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia	Botswana	1–1	2–1	2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4	3 September 2021	Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania	Mauritania	1–0	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	25 March 2022	Kervansaray Sport Centre - Field 1, Antalya, Turkey	Congo	1–0	3–1	Friendly
6	7 June 2022	National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia	Comoros	1–1	2–1	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg^[29]

• Austrian Bundesliga: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
• Austrian Cup: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21

Zambia U20^[29]

• Africa U-20 Cup of Nations: 2017
• COSAFA U-20 Cup: 2016^[30]

Individual

• Austrian Bundesliga Team of the Year: 2020–21^[31]
• Brighton & Hove Albion Goal of the Season: 2021–22^[19]

References

1. "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
2. "Enock Mwepu: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
3. "Enock Mwepu". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
4. "Zambia U20 star Mwepu joins Austria's Salzburg". BBC Sport. 22 June 2017.
5. "Enock Mwepu medical update". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
6. "'You will score a lot of goals this season' – Zambia's Mwepu to Brighton's Welbeck | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
7. Salzburg, Andy Hunter at the Stadion (10 December 2019). "Liverpool reach last 16 after Naby Keïta and Mo Salah douse Salzburg's fire". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
8. "DAKA, MWEPU AND KOITA EXTEND UNTIL 2024". redbullsalzburg.at. FC Red Bull Salzburg. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
9. "Mwepu joins Albion from Red Bull Salzburg". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
10. "Albion claim first win of pre-season at Luton - Brighton & Hove Albion". Brighton & Hove Albion. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
11. "Burnley 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: Substitute Alexis Mac Allister seals comeback win - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
12. "Cardiff City 0-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: Seagulls into Carabao Cup third round - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
13. "Leicester City 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: Foxes win 4-2 on penalties - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
14. "Liverpool 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: Reds held after stirring Brighton fightback - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
15. "'I feel for him' - Graham Potter lifts lid on Enock Mwepu's injury woes and talks return goals - SussexLive". SussexLive. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
16. "Arsenal 1-2 Brighton: Gunners boss Mikel Arteta 'concerned' by performance in home defeat - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 9 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
17. "Wolves 0-3 Brighton: Mac Allister, Trossard and Bissouma earn excellent away win - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
18. "Brighton's Enock Mwepu expected to miss rest of season - The Argus". The Argus. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
19. "Cucurella at the double at Players' Awards". Brighton & Hove Albion. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
20. "Brighton 3-1 West Ham: David Moyes' side must settle for Europa Conference League". BBC Sport Sport. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
21. "Under-17 coach unveils provisional squad". Retrieved 21 March 2017.
22. "Player Enock Mwepu". Zedsoccer. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
23. "Zambia dominates CAF Best XI". Fazfootball. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
24. Hazlewood, Paul (30 December 2022). "Enock Mwepu appointed Academy coach". Brighton and Hove Albion. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
25. "Im Geburtstalk: Francisco Mwepu". sksturm.at. SK Sturm Graz. 1 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
26. "Enock Mwepu: Former Brighton midfielder in hospital after falling ill". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
27. "Enock Mwepu update". Brighton & Hove Albion. Brighton & Hove Albion. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
28. Enock Mwepu at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
29. "E. Mwepu". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
30. "FULLTIME – COSAFA U20: South Africa 1 Zambia 2 – Final". Retrieved 6 July 2021.
31. "Bundesliga.at - Das Team der Saison 2020/21". www.bundesliga.at. Retrieved 8 December 2022.