Jordan Zemura

Jordan Zemura's father comes from Murehwa while his mother is from Chigondo in Wedza.^[2]

Siblings

Jordan Zemura has two brothers; Hunter and Jesse.^[1]

Education

He attended the Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey for secondary school and went on to study Sport Science at Canterbury University. Jordan Zemura represented his county in athletics.^[1]

Career

Zemura joined Queens Park Rangers' academy at the age of six, spending three years there from 2006 to 2009. He had a brief trial with Chelsea and he trained at Cobham for eight weeks but they wouldn’t sign him because he lived two hours away. Jordan Zemura joined Charlton Athletic, where he spent eight years in their youth setup.

After being released by Charlton in 2019, Zemura was soon having to apply for trials at other clubs around England to continue his hopes of a career. While waiting to be called for a trial, Zemura worked with a family friend who fitted glass and window frames. He was fired.

AFC Bournemouth

Jordan Zemura signed a one-year contract with the AFC Bournemouth under-21s following a successful trial period in 2019.^[3]

Zemura's first-team experience came when he made a substitute appearance in a 3-0 win over Lyon in a pre-season friendly at Vitality Stadium in August 2019. He was rewarded with a new contract in July 2020. Zemura came off the bench in AFC Bournemouth's two pre-season friendlies in 2020 against Benfica and West Ham.

He made his debut when he started in the second round of the Carabao Cup against Premier League Crystal Palace and scored in a penalty shootout as the Cherries prevailed 11-10.

Zemura came off the bench in the third-round defeat at Manchester City before making his league debut as a late substitute in a 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town in December 2020.

He started the FA Cup third-round win over Oldham Athletic and made a substitute appearance during a 1-0 defeat at Wycombe towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign.^[4]

He made his English Premier League debut for AFC Bournemouth in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa on 06 August 2022 and played the entire ninety minutes.

Zemura became the fifth fully-capped Warriors international to play in the EPL after Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, ex-Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari, Peter Ndlovu (Birmingham City) and Bruce Grobbelaar (Liverpool).^[5]

Udinese Calcio Football Club

In April 2023, Italian club Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese announced the signing of Zemura on a pre-contract.^[6]

Zemura joined the Serie A club on a free transfer from Bournemouth and signed a long-term deal effective 01 July 2023 to 30 June 2027.

National Team

Zemura made his international debut in November 2020 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Algeria. He won his second cap against the same opposition four days later.^[4]

He played two matches for Zimbabwe at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals held in Cameroon and featured in the 1-2 loss to Malawi and 2-1 victory over Guinea.^[7]

Awards

Zemura won the supporters’ player-of-the-month award for August.^[4]

References