Bongani Khumalo

Bongani Khumalo

Personal information
Full name	Bongani Sandile Khumalo
Date of birth	6 January 1987 (1987-01-06)
Place of birth	Manzini, Swaziland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Tottenham Hotspur
Number	36
Youth career
000?–2005	Arcadia Shepherds
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2007	University of Pretoria	50	(4)
2007–2010	Supersport United	81	(8)
2011–	Tottenham Hotspur	0	(0)
2011	→ Preston North End (loan)	6	(0)
2011–2012	→ Reading (loan)	4	(0)
National team‡
2008–	South Africa	22	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:27, 6 August 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 June 2011

Bongani Sandile Khumalo (born 6 January 1987) is a South African footballer who plays as a defender for Tottenham Hotspur and South Africa.

Early life

Khumalo was born in Manzini, Swaziland, because his mother was studying there at the time. He grew up in Pretoria and was the third player born outside South Africa to play for Bafana Bafana.

Club career

Early career

Khumalo went through the academy of Arcadia Shepherds before opting to sign for University of Pretoria in 2005 where he made 50 appearances scoring four times.

In 2007 it was agreed that he would join South Africa giants Supersport United making 79 appearances scoring eight goals. Following the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Scottish Premier League club Rangers revealed on their website that they were interested in signing Khumalo and his South Africa teammate Katlego Mphela from Supersport United and Mamelodi Sundowns respectively. In August 2010, Khumalo's agent revealed that Tottenham Hotspur were looking to sign Khumalo in the January transfer window after he had accrued more game time with Supersport United and the national team. On 26 October, it was confirmed Spurs had reached an agreement with United to sign Khumalo in January 2011.

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.

Preston North End (loan)

On 24 March 2011, Khumalo made an emergency deadline day loan move to Championship club Preston North End. He made his debut for Preston on 2 April 2011 in their 2–1 victory over Swansea.

Reading (loan)

On 25 July 2011, Khumalo moved on a season-long loan to Championship club Reading. However following the arrival of Kaspars Gorkss 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.

International career

Khumalo was named in the South African squad for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup, both in South Africa. On 22 June 2010, Khumalo scored the first goal after 21 minutes against France as South Africa finished their World Cup campaign with a 2–1 win.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	22 June 2010	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa	France	0–1	1–2	2010 FIFA World Cup

External links

• Bongani Khumalo – FIFA competition record
• Bongani Khumalo career stats at Soccerbase
• Career history at National Football Teams