 Khumalo in Poland | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bongani Sandile Khumalo[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-01-06)6 January 1987 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Manzini, Swaziland | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–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) |
| Total | 255 | (16) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2013 | South Africa | 42 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:27, 6 July 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:42, 13 March 2014 | |||
Bongani Sandile Khumalo (born 6 January 1987) is a South African retiredfootballer who last played as acentre-back forBidvest Wits and theSouth Africa national team.
Khumalo was born inManzini but relocated toPretoria, South Africa during his infancy.[2] There, his late father was a language lecturer at theUniversity of South Africa and his mother was a teacher.[3] During his time in Pretoria, Khumalo studied towards a degree at theUniversity 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 asmiddle class and confirming that he was an only child.[3]
Having graduated from theArcadia Shepherds academy, Khumalo signed forUniversity of Pretoria in 2005. He spent two seasons at the club where he played in theNational First Divisionand scored four goals in 50 appearances.[2][4] His form during his time in with University of Pretoria caught the eye of a number ofSouth African Premier Division sides and in 2007 he signed forSuperSport United.
Following his arrival at SuperSport United, Khumalo soon established himself as an important player inGavin 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 withPremier 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]
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]
On 24 March 2011, Khumalo made an emergency deadline dayloan move toChampionship clubPreston 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 clubReading.[10] However following the arrival ofKaspars 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 clubPAOK on loan, for one year.[12][13]
Khumalo was signed byDoncaster 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 againstRochdale in theLeague Cup.[15]
On 14 March 2015, Khumalo joinedColchester United on loan for the rest of the season.[16][17] He made ten appearances for theColchester Community Stadium based club before returning to Tottenham.
Khumalo was released by Tottenham Hotspur at the end of2014–15 season,[18] without ever playing a competitive game for the club in 4.5 years.
On 4 August 2015, it was announced that Khumalo had signed forSuperSport United, leaving Tottenham Hotspur after four years and no competitive appearances.[19] He made 10 appearances in all competitions for SuperSport before moving to fellowPremier Soccer League sideBidvest Wits.[20]
On 21 September 2021, it was announced that he is now retiring from football.[21]
Khumalo was named in theSouth Africa national team squad for the2009 Confederations Cup and2010 FIFA World Cup, both in South Africa. On 22 June 2010, he scored the first goal after 21 minutes againstFrance as South Africa finished their World Cup campaign with a 2–1 win.[22] Khumalo wascaptain of the national team at the2013 African Cup of Nations.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 June 2010 | Free State Stadium,Bloemfontein, South Africa |  France | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
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