Hénoc Muamba (born February 23, 1989) is a Congolese-Canadian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who plays

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He was selected first overall by the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

in the 2011 CFL Draft, becoming the first player from

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

to be chosen first overall in the draft. In 2022, he won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

with the Argonauts and was named the game's most valuable player (MVP) and

Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian The Dick Suderman Trophy (french: Trophée Dick Suderman) for the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian (''Le Canadien le plus précieux de la Coupe Grey'') is awarded annually to the Canadian player deemed to have the best performance in the Grey Cup ...

; the 2nd player in history to ever earn both awards. Muamba played

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confer ...

with the

St. Francis Xavier X-Men The St. Francis Xavier X-Men and X-Women are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Oland Stadium located at the University's campus. His ...

. He began his pro career playing three seasons with Winnipeg before joining the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

In the

’s Amateur Scouting Bureau final rankings, he was ranked as the third-best player for players eligible in the 2011 CFL Draft, and first by players in

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Can ...

. On May 6, 2011, a

source leaked the Blue Bombers' intentions to select Muamba with the first overall pick in the 2011 CFL Draft. To no surprise, Muamba was indeed selected first overall by Winnipeg in the draft and was signed to his first professional contract on May 30, 2011. He played in his first professional game on August 26, 2011, against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. He played mostly on special teams in his first year in the league and scored his first touchdown on a blocked punt return which he brought back 52 yards for the score on September 30, 2011, against the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. Muamba played in 11 regular season games in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

where he totalled 15 special teams tackles, one forced fumble, and one touchdown. He played in both post-season games, including his first

appearance in the 2011 championship game, but the Blue Bombers lost to the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

. Muamba became a very significant part of the Bombers defence in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

as he recorded 65 tackles and three sacks while adding another 20 tackles on special teams. Muamba built upon the strong 2012 season he had with an even better 2013 season. He set a new career high with 106 defensive tackles (second most in the league), while also adding one quarterback sack and one interception. His outstanding 2013 campaign was recognized by the Blue Bombers as he was unanimously voted as the team's Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Outstanding Canadian. He won the

Lew Hayman Trophy The Lew Hayman Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, awarded to the outstanding Canadian player in the East Division. Each team in the East Division nominates a player, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of the Hayman troph ...

as the East Division's Most Outstanding Canadian. On February 5, 2014, Muamba was released by the Blue Bombers to pursue an NFL contract.

Indianapolis Colts

On February 6, 2014, Muamba signed with the

of the

. He played in 13 regular season games with the Colts and recorded three solo tackles and two assisted tackles. He was waived on September 5, 2015.

Montreal Alouettes

On September 30, 2015, Muamba signed with the

nearing the end of the

2015 CFL season The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 58th Canadian Football League season. The Edmonton Eskimos won the 103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 in Winnipeg ...

. Muamba played in four games for the Alouettes, contributing 14 tackles and one interception. On February 16, 2016, Muamba was released by the Alouettes to once again pursue his NFL interest.

Dallas Cowboys

Muamba signed with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

of the NFL on July 30, 2016. He was released by the Cowboys on the final 53-man cut down day September 2, 2016.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On October 5, 2016, Muamba and the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

agreed to terms on a contract bringing him back to the CFL for the third time. In a partial season with the Riders, Muamba contributed 18 tackles on defence, nine on specials teams, with two sacks and two forced fumbles. In his second season in Saskatchewan, Muamba played in 17 regular season games, amassing 82 defensive tackles, 11 tackles on special teams, three forced fumbles and two interceptions. Muamba was released by the Riders at the start of free agency, to avoid paying him an offseason bonus of $35,000 Canadian.

Montreal Alouettes (II)

On April 12, 2018, Muamba agreed to a three-year contract with the

with whom he had played during the 2015 CFL season. Muamba earned a career high in tackles with 108, a career high in sacks with five, as well as one interception and one forced fumble. This standout season earned Muamba award nominations by the Alouettes for the CFL's Most Outstanding Player, Defensive Player, and Canadian Player. Muamba was also named to the CFL-East All-Star team. Muamba had another strong season in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

as he played in 17 regular season games and recorded 93 defensive tackles, one sack, and two forced fumbles. He again received the team nomination for Most Outstanding Canadian and this time won the league award for the first time in his career. He was also named a CFL All-Star for the second time in his career for the 2019 season. The Alouettes also returned to the playoffs in 2019 after a four-year absence and Muamba played in two post-season games where he recorded a total of 15 defensive tackles.

Toronto Argonauts

On March 16, 2021, Muamba signed with the

. In his first season in Toronto Muamba played in 10 games contributing with 49 tackles, two quarterbacks sacks and one interception. He re-signed with the Argos on January 25, 2022. He won the

109th Grey Cup The 109th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2022 season. The game was played on November 20, at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. It marked the fourth Grey Cup game to be held in Regina, and the first ...

against the

, winning both the

Grey Cup MVP The Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is awarded annually since 1959 to the player of the winning team who deemed to have had the best performance in the Grey Cup Game, the Canadian Football League's championship game. This award is pres ...

and Most Valuable Canadian in the process.

Personal life

Muamba was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

), but grew up in

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. He played university football for

Antigonish, Nova Scotia , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, and is the school's all-time leader in tackles, with 149.5. His brother,

Cauchy Muamba Cauchy Muamba (born May 8, 1987) is a Congolese-born Canadian football player who plays defensive back and is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted 34th ...

, is a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who also plays professionally and played with Hénoc and the Alouettes in 2019.

References

External links

Hénoc Muamba
at Toronto Argonauts * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muamba, Henoc 1989 births Living people St. Francis Xavier X-Men football players Sportspeople from Kinshasa Sportspeople from Mississauga Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Indianapolis Colts players American football linebackers Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Canada Canadian football linebackers Democratic Republic of the Congo players of Canadian football Democratic Republic of the Congo players of American football Canadian players of American football Players of Canadian football from Ontario Montreal Alouettes players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners