Simon Banza

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.

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)

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

Lens

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

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

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

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

Al Jazira

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

International career

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

Club

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

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

Braga

• Taça da Liga: 2023–24^[27]

Individual

• Primeira Liga Player of the Month: August 2022^[28]