Marvelous Nakamba

Marvelous Nakamba (born 19 January 1994) is a Zimbabwean professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Luton Town.

Born in Hwange near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Nakamba made his senior debut with local team Bantu Rovers in 2010, aged 16.

[13] He played as Vitesse won the final of the KNVB Beker 2–0 against AZ Alkmaar on 30 April 2017 to lead the club, three-time runners up, to the title for the first time in its 125-year history.

[14][15] On 20 June 2017, Nakamba joined Belgian side Club Brugge on a four-year deal for a fee around the margin of £4 million, aged 23 years.

[21] In October 2019, a video purportedly showing racist chants from Aston Villa fans about Nakamba and teammate John McGinn surfaced, and was condemned by the club.

[22] Nakamba was voted by fans as player of the month for November 2021, following a string of good performances under new Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard.

[27] On 27 May 2023, Nakamba and his team secured promotion to the Premier League against Coventry City in the 2023 EFL Championship play-off final.

[36] On 5 May 2021, Nakamba met Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, after the Marvelous Nakamba foundation had been involved in several projects around Zimbabwe, including working to revamp Hwange Hospital, feed programmes for children at rural schools, the provision of personal protective equipment for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe.

[42] In June 2021, Nakamba's charitable works were recognised by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who said that he was "eager to plough [his earnings] back into the community"[43] On 13 June 2022, the Marvelous Nakamba Foundation started construction work on a multi-sports complex in Bulawayo with football, tennis, basketball, volleyball and swimming facilities.