Bongani Sandile Khumalo (born 6 January 1987) is a Liswati-born retired South African

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 last played as a

centre-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 ...

for

Bidvest Wits Bidvest Wits Football Club, (simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club from Johannesburg which played in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African league football system. ...

and the South Africa national team.

Early life

Khumalo was born in

Manzini Manzini may refer to: *Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatini *Manzini Region, a region of Eswatini *Manzini (surname), an Italian surname See also *Roman Catholic Diocese of Manzini The Diocese of Manzini ( la, Manzinien(si ...

but relocated to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, South Africa during his infancy. There, his late father was a language lecturer at the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

and his mother was a teacher. During his time in Pretoria, Khumalo studied towards a degree at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

while embarking on a professional football career. He later had to put his studies on hold, however, following a move to England. Upon his arrival in England, Khumalo was reported to have come from an impoverished background and being one of fifteen siblings. He later denied the reports, describing his family as

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

and confirming that he was an only child.

Club career

University of Pretoria

Having graduated from the Arcadia Shepherds academy, Khumalo signed for

in 2005. He spent two seasons at the club where he played in the

National First Division The National First Division (NFD), officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African club association football, football after the South African Premier Division. Both t ...

and scored four goals in 50 appearances. His form during his time in with University of Pretoria caught the eye of a number of

South African Premier Division The South African Premier Division, officially referred to as the DStv Premiership for sponsorship purposes, is the premier men's professional football/soccer league and the highest division in the league system of South Africa, organized sinc ...

sides and in 2007 he signed for

SuperSport United SuperSport United Football Club (often known as SuperSport) is a South African professional football club based in Atteridgeville in Pretoria in the Gauteng province. The team currently plays in the Dstv Premiership. United is known as ''Matsats ...

SuperSport United

Following his arrival at SuperSport United, Khumalo soon established himself as an important player in

Gavin Hunt Gavin Hunt (born 11 July 1964) is a South African former football (soccer) player and coach who currently manages Supersport United. He previously managed South African Premier Division, Premier Soccer League club Kaizer Chiefs. On 28 May 2021 ...

's side and was later named captain of the club. Over the course of the next three seasons, he helped the club to three consecutive Premier Division and became the youngest ever player to lift the league title, at the age of 23. Khumalo's spell with the club coincided with the SuperSport United entering into an affiliation agreement with

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club,

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, and in 2010 he signed a pre-contract to join the London-based club in January of the following year.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 26 October 2010, it was announced that Khumalo would be joining Tottenham Hotspur in January 2011 from partner club SuperSport United after a successful trial in September, subject to a work permit for a fee of £1.5 million. Tottenham confirmed the completion of Khumalo's transfer from SuperSport United on 7 January 2011.

=Loan moves and release

= On 24 March 2011, Khumalo made an emergency deadline day

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

move to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. He made his debut for Preston on 2 April 2011 in their 2–1 victory over Swansea. On 25 July 2011, Khumalo moved on a season-long loan to Championship club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. However following the arrival of

Kaspars Gorkšs Kaspars Gorkšs (born 6 November 1981) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gorkšs was also the captain of the Latvian national team. From 2018 to 2019 Gorkšs served as president of the Latvian Football Feder ...

from Queens Park Rangers, Khumalo's appearances were limited, and he did not play a first team game after August. On 1 February 2012, it was confirmed that Khumalo's loan would be terminated early, to allow him to return to Tottenham. On 6 July 2012, Khumalo joined Greek club PAOK on loan, for one year. Khumalo was signed by

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

of the Championship for a season's loan on 31 July 2013. On 6 August in his second game for Rovers he scored the winner in a 1−0 victory against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. On 14 March 2015, Khumalo joined

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

on loan for the rest of the season. He made ten appearances for the

Colchester Community Stadium Colchester Community Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the JobServe Community Stadium, is a football stadium in Colchester, England. It is the home of Colchester United Football Club. It has a capacity of 10,105 and opened in August 200 ...

based club before returning to Tottenham. Khumalo was released by Tottenham Hotspur at the end of 2014–15 season, without ever playing a competitive game for the club in 4.5 years.

Return to South Africa

On 4 August 2015, it was announced that Khumalo had signed for

, leaving Tottenham Hotspur after four years and no competitive appearances. He made 10 appearances in all competitions for SuperSport before moving to fellow

Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

side

Retirement

On 21 September 2021, it was announced that he is now retiring from football.

International career

Khumalo was named in the South Africa national team squad for the

2009 Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Joh ...

and

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, both in South Africa. On 22 June 2010, he scored the first goal after 21 minutes against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as South Africa finished their World Cup campaign with a 2–1 win. Khumalo was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the national team at the

2013 African Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Khumalo goal.''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khumalo, Bongani 1987 births Living people People from Manzini Swazi emigrants to South Africa South African soccer players South Africa international soccer players Association football defenders 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players University of Pretoria F.C. players University of Pretoria alumni SuperSport United F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Reading F.C. players PAOK FC players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Bidvest Wits F.C. players English Football League players Super League Greece players South African expatriate soccer players South African expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England South African expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Greece 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players South African people of Swazi descent