Zakhele Lepasa is a talented South African professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for the Premier Soccer League side Orlando Pirates, and the country's national team, Bafana Bafana.
Lepasa has started the 2023/24 season in brilliant form, as his contributions domestically and in continental competitions have put the Buccaneers competing favourably on all fronts.
Here are six facts about this brilliant attacker who has grown to be a force to be reckoned with in the South African football landscape.
6 Zakhele Lepasa facts you need to know
Zakhele Lepasa career began at Orlando Pirates
Born in Soweto on 19 March 1997, Lepasa started his career at Orlando Pirates.
In August 2018, Lepasa joined Stellenbosch on a season-long loan to develop and gain playing time. However, after 4 league appearances for Stellenbosch, he switched over to TS Galaxy on loan in February 2019.
He went on to score 9 goals in 15 matches for TS Galaxy across all competitions including scoring the only goal of the 2019 Nedbank Cup Final against Kaizer Chiefs.
Zakhele Lepasa is a Nedbank Cup player of the tournament winner
As a loanee at TS Galaxy in 2019, Lepasa scored the only goal of the 2019 Nedbank Cup Final against Kaizer Chiefs from the penalty spot, to make them the first side from outside South Africa's top tier to win the competition.
After 4 goals in 4 matches in the Nedbank Cup, he was awarded the ‘Player of the Tournament' award as well as being the top scorer in the competition. His performances in the competition set his career on track and has led him to where he is today.
Zakhele Lepasa is a proud father
Flaunting your baby as a celebrity is the norm of the day, and so it is for the striker who shares loved-up photos of himself and his baby on his social media page, although he doesn't share who the mother of his adorable baby is.
Zakhele Lepasa owns a BMW
It is said sometimes that the worth of a man lies in his wheels, and Lepasa is one to make a statement when he pulls up. With a sizzling blue BMW, the Buccaneer’s whip costs no less than R580,000.
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Zakhele Lepasa rumoured early retirement due to injury
In December 2020, Lepasa was injured during a match between Chippa United and Orlando Pirates. The star forward suffered a fractured ankle and was out for months.
However, in September 2021 a purported social media post speculated that Zakhele Lepasa had retired as a result of the injuries he sustained in that Chippa United vs Orlando Pirates match.
Interestingly, the post was made in Lepasa’s name and it read:
“It is a very sad end to my career to announce my retirement. I never expected such and it hurts me that I’m forced to, even if I don’t want to, but I won’t force things, it will take some while for me to recover and to be honest it won’t be now.
“It will take time for me to heal. But I enjoyed every moment with the Buccaneers and the PSL teams. I wanted to see myself playing for bigger teams, especially in international leagues, but unfortunately my journey ends here. I wish nothing but the best to my team.”
The viral news got to Lepasa and he wasted no time debunking the rumours as he made a post from his official Twitter handle.
“This post has been going around and it’s fake news. Rehab has been great, there’s no need to rush though, and it’s almost done. We’ve come so far, and I can’t wait to be back. Please stop spreading fake news and playing with our lives, worse on TV. Disappointing!” the striker tweeted.
Zakhele Lepasa can outscore Peter Shalulile to the PSL top scorer gong
Mamelodi Sundowns' Peter Shalulile has won the league's top goal scorer award on three separate occasions, a PSL record.
Shalulile's best goal-campaign was when he netted 23 league goals in the 2021/22 season. Last season, the Downs hitman finished on level terms with Cape Town City's Khanyisa Mayo with 12 goals each.
However, the Namibian forward has not featured very prominently for the league leaders this season due to injuries but has two goals to his name already at the time of writing.
Lepasa has scored three league goals and this could be his season to go home with the top scorer gong if he can keep up with his good form.
Time has come for Peter Shalulile to be dethroned and competition is already building up from the likes of his teammate Lucas Costa Ribeiro who currently sits top of the standings, and Chibuike Ohizu of Sekhukhune United with three goals.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago