Handwalla Bwana
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | June 25, 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Mombasa, Kenya | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2016 | Seattle Sounders FC | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Washington Huskies | 39 | (12) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2020 | Tacoma Defiance[a] | 16 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | Seattle Sounders FC | 32 | (4) |
| 2020–2022 | Nashville SC | 7 | (0) |
| 2022 | →Memphis 901(loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2023 | Charleston Battery | 0 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 19, 2022 | |||
Handwalla Bwana(born June 25, 1999)[1]is a Somali professionalfootballerwho plays as awinger.
Early life
[edit]Bwana was born aSomalirefugee in Mombasa, Kenya, spending the first six years of his childhood at arefugee campinKakumain northwestern Kenya.[2]His family resettled in theUnited Statesin 2010, initially inAtlanta,but later inSeattle,where he attendedBallard High School.[3]Bwana said "I fell in love with the game because my dad played it. My dad was a professional in Somalia".[4]Describing how his childhood shaped him as a player, Bwana has stated that "playing with a garbage ball...made me better with my feet".[5]
Career
[edit]Bwana joined theSeattle Sounders FC Academyin 2015.[6]On September 11, 2015, Bwana made his professional debut forUSLclubSeattle Sounders FC 2in a 1–0 defeat to theOrange County Blues.[7]He spent two seasons at theUniversity of Washington.
Bwana was signed by the Sounders MLS side as aHomegrown Playeron January 11, 2018.[8]Bwana made his debut for the club against expansion sideLos Angeles FCas a substitute on March 4, 2018, an appearance which included a shot from outside the box that hit the crossbar.[9]He started Seattle'sCONCACAF Champions Leaguequarterfinal tie against Mexican clubChivasthree days later,[10]but did not appear in the second leg in Guadalajara, as Seattle lost 3–1 on aggregate. Bwana started his firstMLSgame againstFC Dallason March 18, 2018, a 3–0 defeat.[11]His first goal was on May 9, 2018, the game winner againstToronto FC,[12]and scored again a week later againstOrlando City SC.[13]
The Sounders traded Bwana toNashville SCon October 21, 2020, in exchange forJimmy Medrandaand $225,000 of General Allocation Money.[14]
On August 19, 2022, Bwana joinedUSL ChampionshipsideMemphis 901on loan for the remainder of the 2022 season.[15]
On January 10, 2023, Bwana and Nashville mutually agreed to part ways.[16]The following day, the player officially joinedUSL ChampionshipsideCharleston Batteryon afree transfer.[17]After missing the entire season due to injury, he left Charleston following the 2023 season.[18]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 30 November 2020[19]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 2015 | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Tacoma Defiance | 2019 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||||
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2018 | MLS | 12 | 2 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | — | 0[b] | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
| Nashville SC | 2020 | MLS | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 50 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 55 | 5 | ||
Honours
[edit]Seattle Sounders FC
Notes
[edit]- ^Tacoma Defiance were known as Seattle Sounders FC 2.
- ^abAppearance(s) inCONCACAF Champions League
- ^abAppearance(s) inMLS Cup Playoffs
References
[edit]- ^@briansciaretta (October 9, 2020)."In a bit of cool player news in ways beyond soccer, I've heard that Sounders winger Handwalla Bwana has officially become an American citizen. Amazing story after spending time as a child in a refugee camp in Kenya and learning to play with homemade soccer balls. Congrats to him"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^Bien, Louis (March 5, 2018)."Handwalla Bwana's journey from Kakuma refugee camp to the Seattle Sounders".SB Nation.RetrievedMarch 26,2021.
- ^Pentz, Matt (October 28, 2016)."Handwalla Bwana could be the next Seattle soccer star. But first he must conquer his American Dream".Seattle Times.RetrievedFebruary 4,2018.
- ^Episode 27 - "Refuge & Humility" W/Soroosh Abdi & Handwalla Bwana,32 minutes 49 seconds,retrievedSeptember 14,2020
- ^"New Homegrown Player Handwalla Bwana sits down for first interview".SoundersFC.com.Seattle Sounders FC.January 12, 2018. Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 4,2018.
- ^Molinari, Alessandro; Tanaka, Ella (March 28, 2015)."Junior Handwalla Bwana plays soccer for Seattle Sounders Academy".BallardTalisman.com.RetrievedNovember 11,2015.
- ^"S2 falls 1-0 at home to OC Blues FC, needs win in season finale to advance to USL Playoffs".SoundersFC.com.Sounders FC Communications. September 11, 2015.RetrievedNovember 11,2015.
- ^Mondello, Joseph (January 11, 2018)."Analysis: Where will Handwalla Bwana fit with the Sounders?".Seattle Sounders.
- ^Ciaccio, Danny (March 4, 2018)."Seattle Sounders rookie Handwalla Bwana impresses, flashes creative flair in his MLS debut".Seattle Sounders.
- ^Krasnoo, Ryan (March 8, 2018)."Seattle Sounders midfielder Handwalla Bwana plays beyond his years, earns high marks in first Senior Team start vs. Chivas".Seattle Sounders.
- ^"Seattle Sounders versus FC Dallas starting lineup: Handwalla Bwana makes first MLS start, Kelvin Leerdam first start of season".Seattle Sounders.March 18, 2018.
- ^Boehm, Charles (May 9, 2018)."Toronto FC 1, Seattle Sounders 2 | 2018 MLS Match Recap".MLS.RetrievedMarch 27,2019.
- ^Evans, Jayda (May 28, 2019)."During Ramadan, Sounders' Nouhou, Handwalla Bwana make it clear: 'Religion comes first'".The Seattle Times.RetrievedJune 12,2019.
- ^"Sounders FC trades Handwalla Bwana to Nashville SC for Jimmy Medranda and General Allocation Money".SoundersFC.October 21, 2020.RetrievedOctober 21,2020.
- ^"Memphis 901 FC adds Nashville SC's Handwalla Bwana on Loan".
- ^"Nashville SC, winger Handwalla Bwana mutually part ways | MLSSoccer.com".mlssoccer.
- ^"Battery add attacking midfielder Handwalla Bwana".Charleston Battery.January 11, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 11,2023.
- ^[email protected], NICHOLAS MURRAY- (December 1, 2023)."Barajas leads Charleston Battery returnees in first roster moves".USL Championship.
- ^Handwalla Bwanaat Soccerway. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
External links
[edit]- 1999 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Mombasa
- Soccer players from Atlanta
- Soccer players from Seattle
- Washington Huskies men's soccer players
- Tacoma Defiance players
- Seattle Sounders FC players
- Nashville SC players
- Men's association football forwards
- USL Championship players
- Major League Soccer players
- Homegrown Players (MLS)
- Memphis 901 FC players
- Charleston Battery players
- Somalian refugees
- Refugees in Kenya
- Kenyan people of Somali descent
- American people of Somali descent