Haji Suleiman Haji Ali Mnoga (born 16 April 2002) is a 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 ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or for

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

on loan from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. Born in England, he plays for the Tanzania national team.

Personal life

Haji Mnoga was born in

to a

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

n father and English mother. Mnoga attended Cottage Grove Primary School and Trafalgar School. His father also played football and represented

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

under 17's.

Club career

Portsmouth

Mnoga progressed through

's youth categories. He has been at the club since 2008. He was offered a two-year scholarship contract on 28 June 2018. Mnoga made his professional debut on 9 October 2018, starting in a 1–0 EFL Trophy away win against

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...

. At the age of 16 years, five months and 24 days, he became the second-youngest player to debut for the club in their post-war history, only behind fellow Academy teammate Joe Hancott. On 21 March 2020 Mnoga was tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. Having recovered from COVID-19, Mnoga featured for Gosport Borough in a 1-0 pre-season victory over local rivals

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the ...

at Privett Park in September 2020, having been loaned for the evening by

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

to their neighbours across the harbour. On 3 November 2020, Mnoga made his league debut for Portsmouth, coming off the bench to play right-wing in a 3-1 win at Lincoln City. He made his full league debut in a 4-1 home win over

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

, coming off at half-time. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth in an EFL Trophy tie against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

on 8 December 2020. On 31 August 2021, Mnoga signed a new three-year contract with Portsmouth before moving on loan to

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

side

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

until January 2022. On 8 January 2022, Mnoga joined

side Weymouth on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. He joined Gillingham on a season-long loan on deadline day in the summer of 2022, where he was sent off after 10 minutes of his debut. In January 2023, he joined

on loan until the end of the season. On 2 August 2023, Mnoga returned to Aldershot Town on a season-long loan deal.

International career

Mnoga was eligible to represent both England and Tanzania at international level. Mnoga made his England U17 debut on 10 February 2019, coming on at half-time against Hungary U17 in a 4–1 penalty friendly win. He debuted with Tanzania national team in a 3–1 friendly win over

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

on 24 March 2022. Mnoga reportedly rejected a call up to the Tanzania Under-23 side in September 2022 to focus on his duties at Gillingham.

Career statistics

Honours

Portsmouth * EFL Trophy: 2018–19

References

External links

Portsmouth FC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mnoga, Haji 2002 births Living people Footballers from Portsmouth Tanzanian men's footballers Tanzania men's international footballers English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Tanzanian people of English descent English people of Tanzanian descent Men's association football defenders Portsmouth F.C. players Bognor Regis Town F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players English Football League players