Lagos Kunga (born October 20, 1998) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who currently plays for

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two duri ...

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

Early life

Kunga was born in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

before his family moved to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, where they lived until he was seven years old. They later moved to

Clarkston, Georgia Clarkston is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 7,554 as of the 2010 census. The city is noted for its ethnic diversity, and is often referred to as "the most diverse square mile in America" and "the Ellis Islan ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Professional career

At the youth level, Kunga developed at DDYSC in Atlanta and played varsity soccer at

The Paideia School The Paideia School () is a private independent school in the Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. It enrolls children ages 3 through 18. History In November 1970, when there was a rush among southern communities to open segregation aca ...

. Kunga had initially stated a commitment to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

Atlanta United

It was announced on June 17, 2017, that Kunga would sign with

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 ...

side

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

as a Homegrown Player at the beginning of the 2018 season. On June 28, 2017, Kunga signed with

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

side

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

, the USL affiliate of

, until the end of their 2017 season. He was immediately sent on a short-term loan deal to Atlanta and made an appearance on the same day as a 65th-minute substitute in 3–2 loss to

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

in the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

. On March 24, 2018, Kunga made his first official appearance for Atlanta United on their second team,

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professiona ...

. Kunga started the game, and was subbed off after 86 minutes. On the last day of the USL regular season, October 13, 2018, Kunga scored a brace against the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

in a 3–2 victory to finish off the season with 5 goals in 31 appearances. Following the 2020 season, Kunga was released by Atlanta on November 24, 2020.

Memphis 901 (loan)

Kunga was loaned to

Memphis 901 Memphis 901 FC is an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Stadium The club currently plays on the grounds of AutoZone Park, a baseball stadiu ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. Kunga made 20 appearances scoring one goal.

Phoenix Rising (loan)

On January 21, 2020, Kunga was loaned to USL Championship club

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle E ...

Kalonji Pro-Profile

After being released from

following the

2020 USL Championship season The 2020 USL Championship season was the tenth season of the USL Championship and fourth under Division II sanctioning. This was the second season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. Rea ...

, Kunga returned to Georgia to play with

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was found ...

club Kalonji Pro-Profile.

Kristiansund BK

On August 29, 2021, Kunga signed with

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

club

Kristiansund BK Kristiansund BK is a Norwegian football club located in Kristiansund that currently plays in Eliteserien. The team plays its home matches in the 4,444-capacity Kristiansund Stadion. Kristiansund BK was formed in the autumn of 2003, when two riva ...

Kalonji Pro-Profile

Kunga returned to Kalonji Pro-Profile in 2022. He scored in Kalonji's

National Third Place match against the

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...

Academy.

Al Khums SC

In September 2022, Kunga signed

Libyan Premier League The Libyan Premier League ( ar, الدوري الليبي الممتاز) is the men's top professional football division of the Libyan football league system. Administered by the Competition Organizing Committee in the Libyan Football Federatio ...

side

Al Khums SC Al Khums Sports Cultural Social Club ( ar, نادي الخمس الرياضي الثقافي الإجتماعي) is a Libyan football club based in Al Khums which plays in the Libyan Premier League. The club plays its home games at Al Khums St ...

Des Moines Menace

In May, 2023, Kunga signed with USL2 side

Statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunga, Lagos 1998 births Living people Footballers from Luanda Sportspeople from DeKalb County, Georgia American soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players Angolan footballers American people of Angolan descent African-American men's soccer players Sportspeople of Angolan descent Angolan expatriates in Russia Angolan emigrants to the United States Men's association football forwards Atlanta United FC players Atlanta United 2 players Charleston Battery players Homegrown Players (MLS) Memphis 901 FC players Phoenix Rising FC players Kristiansund BK players People from Clarkston, Georgia Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) USL Championship players United Premier Soccer League players American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in Norway American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Libya Angolan expatriates in Libya Des Moines Menace players USL League Two players