Innocent Maela
South African soccer player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Innocent Maela (born 14 August 1992) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Orlando Pirates, which he captains, and the South Africa national team.[2]
Full name
Sakhile Innocent Maela
Date of birth
14 August 1992
Place of birth
Witbank, South Africa
Height
1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sakhile Innocent Maela | ||
| Date of birth | 14 August 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Witbank, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Orlando Pirates | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008-2012 | Orlando Pirates | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Witbank Spurs | 35 | (4) |
| 2014–2017 | Thanda Royal Zulu | 82 | (5) |
| 2017– | Orlando Pirates | 144 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017– | South Africa | 11 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:00, 28 March 2023 (UTC) | |||
Personal
He is the son of footballer Eric Maela and he is also paternal half-brother of Tsepo Masilela.[3] He married Zenande Funani on 21 March 2025 in Maclear, Eastern Cape.[4]
