Bongani Khumalo

Bongani Sandile Khumalo (born 6 January 1987) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a centre back for SuperSport United and South Africa.

Bongani Khumalo
Khumalo in Poland
Personal information
Full name Bongani Sandile Khumalo[1]
Date of birth (1987-01-06) 6 January 1987
Place of birth Manzini, Swaziland
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Centre Back
Club information
Current team
 SuperSport United
Number 3
Youth career
000?–2005 Arcadia Shepherds
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 AmaTuks 50 (4)
2007–2010 SuperSport United 81 (8)
2011–2015 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
2011 → Preston North End (loan) 6 (0)
2011–2012 → Reading (loan) 4 (0)
2012–2013 → PAOK (loan) 22 (0)
2013–2014 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 30 (1)
2015 → Colchester United (loan) 10 (0)
2015–2016 SuperSport United 9 (0)
2016–2018 Bidvest Wits 43 (3)
2018– SuperSport United 30 (1)
National team‡
2008– South Africa 42 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:27, 6 July 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:42, 13 March 2014

Early life

Khumalo was born in Manzini but relocated to Pretoria, South Africa during his infancy.[2] There, his late father was a language lecturer at the University of South Africa and his mother was a teacher.[3] During his time in Pretoria, Khumalo studied towards a degree at the University of Pretoria while embarking on a professional football career.[3] He later had to put his studies on hold, however, following a move to England. Upon his arrival in England, Khumalo was reported to have come from an impoverished background and being one of fifteen siblings. He later denied the reports, describing his family as middle class and confirming that he was an only child.[3]

Club career

University of Pretoria

Having graduated from the Arcadia Shepherds academy, Khumalo signed for University of Pretoria in 2005. He spent two seasons at the club where he played in the National First Division and scored four goals in 50 appearances.[2][4] His form during his time in with University of Pretoria caught the eye of a number of South African Premier Division sides and in 2007 he signed for SuperSport United.

SuperSport United

Following his arrival at SuperSport United, Khumalo soon established himself as an important player in Gavin Hunt's side and was later named captain of the club.[5] Over the course of the next three seasons, he helped the club to three consecutive Premier Division and became the youngest ever player to lift the league title, at the age of 23.[5][6][7] Khumalo's spell with the club coincided with the SuperSport United entering into an affiliation agreement with Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur, and in 2010 he signed a pre-contract to join the London-based club in January of the following year.[5]

Tottenham Hotspur

On 26 October 2010, it was announced that Khumalo would be joining Tottenham Hotspur in January 2011 from partner club SuperSport United after a successful trial in September, subject to a work permit for a fee of £1.5 million. Tottenham confirmed the completion of Khumalo's transfer from SuperSport United on 7 January 2011.[8]

Loan moves and release

On 24 March 2011, Khumalo made an emergency deadline day loan move to Championship club Preston North End.[9] He made his debut for Preston on 2 April 2011 in their 2–1 victory over Swansea.

On 25 July 2011, Khumalo moved on a season-long loan to Championship club Reading.[10] However following the arrival of Kaspars Gorkšs from Queens Park Rangers, Khumalo's appearances were limited, and he did not play a first team game after August. On 1 February 2012, it was confirmed that Khumalo's loan would be terminated early, to allow him to return to Tottenham.[11]

On 6 July 2012, Khumalo joined Greek club PAOK on loan, for one year.[12][13]

Khumalo was signed by Doncaster Rovers of the Championship for a season's loan on 31 July 2013.[14] On 6 August in his second game for Rovers he scored the winner in a 1−0 victory against Rochdale in the League Cup.[15]

On 14 March 2015, Khumalo joined Colchester United on loan for the rest of the season.[16][17] He made 10 appearances for the Colchester Community Stadium based club before returning to Tottenham.

Khumalo was released by Tottenham Hotspur at the end of 2014–15 season,[18] without ever playing a competitive game for the club in 4.5 years.

Return to South Africa

On 4 August 2015, it was announced that Khumalo had signed for SuperSport United, leaving Tottenham Hotspur after 4 years and 0 competitive appearances.[19] He made 10 appearances in all competitions for SuperSport before moving to fellow Premier Soccer League side Bidvest Wits.[20]

International career

Khumalo was named in the South African squad for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup, both in South Africa. On 22 June 2010, Khumalo scored the first goal after 21 minutes against France as South Africa finished their World Cup campaign with a 2–1 win.[21] Khumalo was captain of the South Africa in the 2013 African Cup of Nations.

International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result CompetitionRef
1.22 June 2010Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa France0–11–22010 FIFA World Cup

References
  1. "B. Khumalo". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  2. "200 Young South Africans: Sport". Mail & Guardian. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  3. Monaghan, Matt (27 October 2010). "Bongani Khumalo shelves financial career to make Tottenham move and rubbishes rags to riches tale". Goal. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  4. "10 things you don't know about Bongani Khumalo". Diski 365. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  5. Fifield, Dominic (26 October 2010). "Tottenham agree pre-contract deal for South African Bongani Khumalo". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  6. "Khumalo eyes title raid". News 24. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  7. "Khumalo back at SuperSport United". SuperSport. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  8. "Bongani transfer complete". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  9. "Bongani joins Preston". Preston North End F.C. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  10. "Royals sign Khumalo on loan". Reading F.C. 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. Παρουσιάζεται στις 19.30 ο Κουμαλό (in Greek). paok24.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  13. "BONGANI IN PAOK LOAN". tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  14. "Bafana Bafana Captain Signs". DRFC Official Site. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  15. "Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Rochdale". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  16. "Khumalo Comes In". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  17. "Bongani Gets Clearance". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  18. "Retained and released lists submitted by Premier League clubs". www.premierleague.com/. Premier League. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  19. "PSL Transfer News: SuperSport sign Bongani Khumalo and Fagrie Lakay". kickoff.com. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  20. "Bongani Khumalo a Clever Boy". Bidvest Wits. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  21. Bevan, Chris (22 June 2010). "France 1–2 South Africa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
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