Handwalla Bwana

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Handwalla Bwana
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-06-25) June 25, 1999 (age 25)
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
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2016–2017 Washington Huskies 39 (12)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(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)
2024 PDX FC 1
2025– Tormenta FC 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 28, 2025

Handwalla Bwana (born June 25, 1999) [1] is a Somali professional footballer who plays as a winger for USL League One club Tormenta FC.

Contents

Early life

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

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]

Bwana signed with Tormenta FC of USL League One in January 2025. [19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 November 2020 [20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Seattle Sounders FC 2 2015 USL 10———10
2016 50———50
2018 40———40
Tacoma Defiance 2019 61———61
2020 00———00
Total161000000161
Seattle Sounders FC 2018 MLS 122—1 [b] 01 [c] 0142
2019 15110—00161
2020 51—0 [b] 0—51
Total324101010354
Nashville SC 2020 MLS20——2 [c] 040
Career total505101030555

Honours

Seattle Sounders FC

Notes

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

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References

  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. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. 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. ↑ "Sough Georgia sign Somalia international Handwalla Bwana". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One . Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  20. ↑ Handwalla Bwana at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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