Thabiso "Boyzzz" Khumalo (born 27 October 1980 in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

) is a former

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

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 ...

. Since 2019, he has been head coach of

AFC Ann Arbor AFC Ann Arbor is an American soccer club based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that currently plays in USL League Two. The team played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2016 to 2019. History AFC Ann Arbor was started by a group of Ann Arbor r ...

's women's side in the

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a pre-professional women's soccer league in the United States which began play in May 2022. It was announced on June 8, 2021 by the United Soccer League with eight founding clubs. It follows the USL W-League, a simi ...

Early life and education

As a boy, Khumalo played under Farouk Khan at the "Super Centre" at the Transnet School of Excellence, before moving to the United States at the age of 16, settling in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Khumalo attended Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, Kentucky, played club soccer for the Nelson County Assassins, Javanon and Lexington Premier, and played college soccer for Lindsey Wilson College and Coastal Carolina University while studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. During his college years Khumalo also played in the USL Premier Development League for both Mid-Michigan Bucks and Chicago Fire Premier.

Professional career

Khumalo was drafted by Chicago Fire in the

2005 MLS SuperDraft The 2005 MLS SuperDraft, held in Baltimore, Maryland on January 14, 2005, was the sixth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Expansion club Real Salt Lake had the first pick as the result of a coin toss (fellow newcomers C.D. ...

, but never played a game in MLS, and instead spent time with Charleston Battery in the USL First Division. He joined USL Second Division side Wilmington Hammerheads in 2006, and then returned to South Africa, where he played for the Vodacom League team

Alexandra United Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

for his former coach, Farouk Khan. Khumalo returned to the United States in 2008, playing for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL Second Division, where he was named to the USL-2 Team of the Year, played all 20 games, and registered six goals and three assists to finish tied for sixth in points in the league. He was also named in the Team of the Week on four occasions, and named Player of the Week once. On 10 September 2008, Khumalo signed on loan with D.C. United. He bagged his first goal for D.C. United during a 5–2 loss to Los Angeles Galaxy on 21 September 2008. Khumalo's success on loan led to United signing him on a permanent basis after the 2008 season ended. Khumalo was released by D.C. United on 27 July 2010. In November 2010, the Louisville Lightning from the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) is an indoor soccer league with mostly semi-professional teams; along with a number of amateur teams across North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entire ...

announced they had signed Khumalo to play in the 2010–11 season. On 14 March 2011, Khumalo signed a contract with Pittsburgh Riverhounds, now playing in the USL Pro league. On 16 November 2013, Khumalo signed with Lansing United, of the National Premier Soccer League. Khumalo signed with

of the National Premier Soccer League for the 2016 season as an assistant coach and player.

Personal life

Khumalo is involved with a nonprofit organisation called the Umhlaba Vision Foundation, which serves to find opportunities for youth through sport and education.

References

External links

MLS player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khumalo, Thabiso 1980 births Living people Soccer players from Soweto Zulu people South African men's soccer players Flint City Bucks players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Chicago Fire FC players Chicago Fire U-23 players Charleston Battery players USL First Division players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players USL Second Division players D.C. United players USL League Two players National Premier Soccer League players AFC Ann Arbor players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Chicago Fire FC draft picks Player-coaches Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Women's association football managers