Will Bernard Kamungo play against Seattle Sounders?

Bernard Kamungo will get the chance to continue his incredible breakthrough season on Saturday.

The 21-year-old winger has contributed eight goals and five assists in his debut season with FC Dallas but suffered an ankle injury in the final game of the regular season. He was only able to play the final ten minutes in Dallas’ playoff opener against Seattle Sounders last weekend but is now back to full fitness and is expected to start in the return game this Saturday.

Kamungo, who has made a meteoric rise from his childhood in a refugee camp, revealed recently that this will be the first time that his parents watch him play live.

Seattle won the first game in the best-of-three series so Dallas need a victory at Toyota Stadium to level things and extend the series to a third game.

From Tanzania to Texas

Bernard Kamungo was born in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania, a million miles away from the manicured fields of Major League Soccer. As a child he loved soccer but could not afford to buy a ball.

Kamungo recalled: “We had to make our own ball by figuring out a way with bags, or something, to just make something that looks like a ball. And then me and my friends could go in the street and play against other people.”

His family moved to Abilene, Texas when Kamungo was aged 14 and he immediately began playing for his middle school team. Older brother Imani soon realised that Bernard could achieve great things in the game and encouraged him to trial with local teams.

In January 2021 Imani paid the $100 entry fee for his younger sibling to attend an open try-out for North Texas SC, a feeder team for FC Dallas. Not only did Kamungo impress the coaches and secure a deal, his performances for North Texas were so good that he was soon moved up to play for Dallas in MLS.

Last weekend he made his first playoff appearance and this Saturday, with his parents watching on, he will be looking to make his dream debut season last a little longer.