Handwalla Bwana

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Handwalla Bwana
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-06-25) June 25, 1999 (age 24)
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 professional footballer who plays as a winger.

Early life[edit]

Bwana was born a Somali refugee in Mombasa, Kenya, spending the first six years of his childhood at a refugee camp in Kakuma in northwestern Kenya.[2] His family resettled in the United States in 2010, initially in Atlanta, but later in Seattle, where he attended Ballard 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 the Seattle Sounders FC Academy in 2015.[6] On September 11, 2015, Bwana made his professional debut for USL club Seattle Sounders FC 2 in a 1–0 defeat to the Orange County Blues.[7] He spent two seasons at the University of Washington.

Bwana was signed by the Sounders MLS side as a Homegrown Player on January 11, 2018.[8] Bwana made his debut for the club against expansion side Los Angeles FC as a substitute on March 4, 2018, an appearance which included a shot from outside the box that hit the crossbar.[9] He started Seattle's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal tie against Mexican club Chivas three days later,[10] but did not appear in the second leg in Guadalajara, as Seattle lost 3–1 on aggregate. Bwana started his first MLS game against FC Dallas on March 18, 2018, a 3–0 defeat.[11] His first goal was on May 9, 2018, the game winner against Toronto FC,[12] and scored again a week later against Orlando City SC.[13]

The Sounders traded Bwana to Nashville SC on October 21, 2020, in exchange for Jimmy Medranda and $225,000 of General Allocation Money.[14]

On August 19, 2022, Bwana joined USL Championship side Memphis 901 on 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 joined USL Championship side Charleston Battery on a free 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]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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]

  1. ^ Tacoma Defiance were known as Seattle Sounders FC 2.
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs

References[edit]

  1. ^ @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) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Bien, Louis (March 5, 2018). "Handwalla Bwana's journey from Kakuma refugee camp to the Seattle Sounders". SB Nation. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  3. ^ Pentz, Matt (October 28, 2016). "Handwalla Bwana could be the next Seattle soccer star. But first he must conquer his American Dream". Seattle Times. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  4. ^ Episode 27 - "Refuge & Humility" W/Soroosh Abdi & Handwalla Bwana, 32 minutes 49 seconds, retrieved September 14, 2020
  5. ^ "New Homegrown Player Handwalla Bwana sits down for first interview". SoundersFC.com. Seattle Sounders FC. January 12, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  6. ^ Molinari, Alessandro; Tanaka, Ella (March 28, 2015). "Junior Handwalla Bwana plays soccer for Seattle Sounders Academy". BallardTalisman.com. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  7. ^ "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. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  8. ^ Mondello, Joseph (January 11, 2018). "Analysis: Where will Handwalla Bwana fit with the Sounders?". Seattle Sounders.
  9. ^ Ciaccio, Danny (March 4, 2018). "Seattle Sounders rookie Handwalla Bwana impresses, flashes creative flair in his MLS debut". Seattle Sounders.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Seattle Sounders versus FC Dallas starting lineup: Handwalla Bwana makes first MLS start, Kelvin Leerdam first start of season". Seattle Sounders. March 18, 2018.
  12. ^ Boehm, Charles (May 9, 2018). "Toronto FC 1, Seattle Sounders 2 | 2018 MLS Match Recap". MLS. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  13. ^ Evans, Jayda (May 28, 2019). "During Ramadan, Sounders' Nouhou, Handwalla Bwana make it clear: 'Religion comes first'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  14. ^ "Sounders FC trades Handwalla Bwana to Nashville SC for Jimmy Medranda and General Allocation Money". SoundersFC. October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  15. ^ "Memphis 901 FC adds Nashville SC's Handwalla Bwana on Loan".
  16. ^ "Nashville SC, winger Handwalla Bwana mutually part ways | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  17. ^ "Battery add attacking midfielder Handwalla Bwana". Charleston Battery. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  18. ^ nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, NICHOLAS MURRAY- (December 1, 2023). "Barajas leads Charleston Battery returnees in first roster moves". USL Championship.
  19. ^ Handwalla Bwana at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

External links[edit]

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