Joel Mumbongo
Joel Ngebany Mumbongo is a Swedish professional footballer who last played as a striker for Scottish League Two side Annan Athletic.
Early life
Mumbongo was born in Gothenburg, Sweden to parents of Congolese descent, Jonathan and Marie. He has a younger sister, Charité, who plays handball for the Sweden national team. He spent his early days in Biskopsgården before the family moved to Nödinge-Nol when he was 10 years-old. He started playing youth football for Lundby IF, IF Warta and Nödinge SK. At the age of twelve he used to train with Gothenburg club Örgryte IS after his parents had contacted the youth coach requesting for a trial. He was also a gifted sprinter during his teenage years and was ranked as one of the best in his region.Club career
Early career
Whilst at Örgryte IS a number of European clubs were beginning to show an interest in Mumbongo. English Premier League side Chelsea contacted his father with the offer of taking Mumbongo on trial, but the trial never materialised. At the age of 15 he went on trial at Manchester City after a Swedish scout had recommended him and was included in an under-16 squad for a tournament in Salzburg. He scored a few goals despite not starting every match but the interest stalled. He subsequently had a short trial at Everton but Mumbongo's father decided that it would be best for his son to finish his studies and play for a top flight club in Sweden.BK Häcken
At the age of 16, in the summer of 2015, he left Örgryte to join Häcken. He continued his development in the youth side earning international honours and attracted interest from English clubs again, going on trial with Stoke City and Southampton. He never made a first team appearance for Häcken despite making the bench twice in the Allsvenskan and training with the side.Utsiktens BK
He decided to drop down two divisions in February 2018 so he could play regularly, when the opportunity arose to sign for Division 1 side Utsiktens BK. He had an impressive goal scoring record in his six months with side, scoring 7 goals in 15 matches. This goal scoring form alerted EFL Championship side Birmingham City who invited him to train with the side. He was all set to sign a contract with all the paperwork completed when the English Football League placed Birmingham under a transfer embargo and the deal was blocked.Hellas Verona
Mumbongo later signed a one-year deal for Italian side Hellas Verona in August 2018, who had recently been relegated to Serie B. A Hellas Verona scout had spotted Munbongo ina UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifier against [Italy national Sweden men's national under-19 football team|under-19 football team|Italy] the year previous. He played a number of games in the under-19 Primavera side before sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a match in October 2018, which kept him out of action for four months. He never made an appearance for the first team as the side were promoted back to Serie A via the play-offs and he returned to Sweden for rehabilitation as a free agent at the end of his contract.