Bernard Kamungo (born 1 January 2002) is a Tanzanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

Club career

Born in

Kasulu Kasulu Town is the second largest town in Kigoma Region, the first one being Kigoma-Ujiji municipality, also the thirteenth most populous town in Tanzania with a population of 208,244 as of 2012. Location Kasulu is located in northwestern Tanz ...

, Kamungo and his family had lived in a refugee camp before being able to relocate to the United States and settle in Abilene,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. After moving to the United States, Kamungo was a member of the Abilene High School soccer team. Following his graduation from high school, Kamungo, alongside his brother Imani, began searching online for potential tryouts for Bernard. After seeing tryouts elsewhere with participation fees as high as $500, Imani found a tryout with

North Texas SC North Texas Soccer Club is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club FC Dallas. While the senior club i ...

, the reserve team for

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

, for only a $90 fee. During that January 2021 trial, Kamungo impressed North Texas head coach

Eric Quill Eric Quill (born February 28, 1978 in Missouri City, Texas) is an American soccer coach and former player. Career College An outstanding youth soccer player, Quill was offered a contract by Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager, but declined the oppor ...

and was signed to a professional contract on 25 March. On 24 April 2021, Kamungo made his debut against

Fort Lauderdale CF Inter Miami Club de Fútbol II, commonly known as Inter Miami CF II, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that plays in the MLS Next Pro, the third-tier of American soccer. The club was established on Feb ...

, coming on as a 71st minute substitute for Hope Avayevu. Eight minutes after coming onto the pitch, Kamungo scored his first professional goal as the match would end in a 4–2 victory. On 30 August 2022, Kamungo signed a four-year contract with

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at

2002 births Living people People from Kigoma Region Tanzanian footballers Association football midfielders North Texas SC players FC Dallas players USL League One players MLS Next Pro players Major League Soccer players Tanzanian emigrants to the United States Soccer players from Texas Sportspeople from Abilene, Texas {{Tanzania-footy-bio-stub