Elias Pelembe: Football Career, Mozambique Caps and Net Worth

Elias Pelembe is the Mozambican footballer known as Dominguês, born on 13 November 1983 in Maputo. He joined UD Songo in 2023 and ended his international football career in January 2026 with 124 caps and 17 goals for Mozambique. South African soccer supporters will recognise the player whose name runs through the histories of SuperSport United, Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits.

For Mozambique, his career connects generations of the Mambas; for South African supporters, it connects several championship teams. His club career, honours and international record are all dated below. Those milestones trace his South African title wins, his return to Mozambican football in 2023 and his international farewell in January 2026.

Who Is Elias Pelembe, the Footballer Called Dominguês?

Elias Gaspar Pelembe represented Mozambique and is known in football as Dominguês. His full name and nickname identify the same player, linking his Mozambican career with his years in South Africa.

Has he retired altogether? Sunday World reported his international retirement in January 2026, following his return to Mozambique to join UD Songo in 2023. Retirement from international football concerns national team appearances and does not establish retirement from club football. Among African footballers, his particular distinction is the length of the bridge he built between Mozambican football and South Africa.

The two names also matter when exploring his career: an archive entry under Dominguês can belong to the same footballer listed elsewhere as Elias Pelembe. Match the club and date before combining records. His spells at SuperSport, Sundowns and Wits provide useful reference points, while Mozambique appearances belong to a separate international record. That distinction helps readers follow one career across different naming conventions without counting an appearance twice.

The Road From Maputo: Every Club and the Reported Fees

Pelembe's documented senior route began at Desportivo Maputo, where he played from 2004 to 2007 before joining SuperSport United. His breakthrough in South Africa was immediate in sporting terms: SuperSport won the league in 2007 to 2008 and 2008 to 2009. The 2008 PSL Player of the Season award placed an individual marker beside those team achievements.

He moved to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2009 and remained until 2015, adding the league championship in 2013 to 2014 and the Nedbank Cup in 2014 to 2015. Supporters of Downs, also known as the Brazilians, therefore have both a lengthy spell and dated honours to attach to his name. The trophies show that his success at Sundowns continued across league and cup competitions.

Bidvest Wits became his next club in 2015, beginning a spell that lasted until 2020. The honours followed again: the MTN 8 in 2016, the league title in 2016 to 2017, and the Telkom Knockout in 2017. Across SuperSport, Sundowns and Wits, the championship thread is especially useful: Pelembe contributed to title winning squads at each club, rather than leaving his league success behind with his first move.

His later route took him to Polokwane City in 2021, then Royal AM during the same year, where he stayed until 2023. He joined UD Songo in Mozambique in 2023, completing a return home after his long South African chapter.

The distinction between a club spell and an individual season is useful here. A joining year establishes a move, while a championship season identifies the particular team achievement attached to it. Pelembe's Sundowns years, for example, include the league title in 2013 to 2014 and a cup success in 2014 to 2015. Keeping those dates separate makes his honours easier to follow than treating every trophy as part of one campaign.

What Did Pelembe Do on the Pitch?

Pelembe's 2008 PSL Player of the Season award provides a dated measure of individual recognition alongside his team honours. His achievements span championship campaigns at SuperSport United, Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits, connecting a Mozambican international with three South African title winning squads.

His SuperSport breakthrough in 2007 to 2008 is the defining club period because the league championship and Player of the Season award sit together. Sunday World described him in January 2026 as the only Mozambican to have won that award. It gives his place in the Mozambique to PSL pathway a precise measure. The later league honours at Sundowns and Wits then show that his career contained several successful chapters, each with a different set of teammates.

For readers studying his contribution through archived matches, watch what happens around his involvement as well as the final action. Receiving space, passing choices and movement after releasing the ball offer different evidence from a trophy list. A full match can show those decisions in context; a short compilation selects only a few moments. Neither an individual award nor a team medal, by itself, describes every responsibility a player carried in a particular game.

The defining international image comes from a different stage of his career: his appearance against Ivory Coast on 24 December 2025. At 42, he became the oldest outfield player to appear at an Africa Cup of Nations. That distinction concerns outfield players specifically, so it should retain that wording when quoted. It is a record of longevity, while his earlier championship seasons explain why supporters had followed him for so long before that moment arrived.

Pelembe and the Mambas: Caps, Goals and AFCON

Pelembe represented Mozambique for 21 years and finished his international career with 124 caps and 17 goals at the count dated 5 January 2026. Wikipedia lists that appearance total as Mozambique's national benchmark at that date. Dating the claim matters because another player's career can continue after his retirement. For readers comparing generations of Mambas players, keep the final personal total separate from a national record that can eventually change hands.

His Africa Cup of Nations appearances covered the editions labelled 2010, 2023 and 2025. Tournament labels can differ from the calendar year in which matches are played, so use the edition name when checking an archive. His appearance against Ivory Coast at the 2025 finals added the oldest outfield player distinction to that tournament history.

Those three tournament editions and his complete international appearance count answer different questions. The finals record identifies his involvement on the continental tournament stage; the 124 caps describe the wider Mozambique career. Reading one as though it were the other would obscure the longevity that makes his Mambas story distinctive. His 17 international goals likewise belong to the national team record, separate from achievements with his South African clubs.

His final international match was Mozambique's 4 to 0 defeat by Nigeria in Marrakech at AFCON 2025, which ended the Mambas' tournament. Sunday World's report of 7 January 2026 placed his retirement after that match and described an international career spanning 21 years. For Nigerian readers, it is a direct connection between a Super Eagles victory and the farewell of a familiar African football figure. The result and the farewell are both part of the match's lasting meaning.

Elias Pelembe net worth

No named outlet estimate of Elias Pelembe's net worth was identified in the available reporting, so there is no supported figure to quote. Sunday World reported in January 2026 that he had been the highest paid player at Sundowns, but supplied no salary amount. That is a historical claim about his standing among earners. It does not establish an annual wage, his earnings across that entire spell, or the value of his assets.

The reporting also leaves Pelembe's endorsement receipts, image rights payments and any dated market valuation unquantified. There is consequently no documented wealth total to express in the currencies used by readers across the five countries. His moves between clubs establish a career timeline, but the empty fee entries cannot reveal what he personally received. Assessing his wealth would require evidence about assets and liabilities that his honours and appearance records do not supply.

How to Watch Pelembe From Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda

Pelembe's move to UD Songo in 2023 provides the starting point for following his return to Mozambican club football through dated fixtures and country viewing information. His January 2026 international retirement means an archived Mozambique appearance should not be mistaken for an upcoming national team selection. South African readers seeking his PSL years should check the match date and club carefully, because footage from SuperSport, Sundowns and Wits belongs to separate chapters with different competitions and honours.

A Pelembe archive search can lead to Mozambican domestic fixtures, South African club matches or Mambas tournament appearances, so viewing availability depends on the competition and the viewer's country. Compare the fixture's WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT kick off times together when planning to watch. The relevant zones are WAT for Nigeria, EAT for Kenya and Uganda, SAST for South Africa, and GMT for Ghana. Pair Pelembe or Dominguês with a club name and season to locate older footage, then verify its date in the match record.

Check whether a listing offers a complete replay, highlights or a live broadcast before arranging your viewing. For Pelembe's championship years, a dated replay helps connect the football to the relevant SuperSport, Sundowns or Wits campaign. For his Mozambique farewell, the match date distinguishes the January 2026 fixture from the 2025 tournament label. These checks keep archive viewing aligned with the career milestone you want to explore.