Haji Suleiman Haji Ali Mnoga (born 16 April 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Aldershot Town on loan from Portsmouth. Born in England, he plays for the Tanzania national team.

Haji Mnoga
Personal information
Full name Haji Suleiman Haji Ali Mnoga[1]
Date of birth (2002-04-16) 16 April 2002 (age 21)[2]
Place of birth Portsmouth, England
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
Aldershot Town
(on loan from Portsmouth)
Number 2
Youth career
2008–2018 Portsmouth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Portsmouth 5 (0)
2019Bognor Regis Town (loan) 1 (0)
2021Bromley (loan) 6 (0)
2022Weymouth (loan) 19 (0)
2022Gillingham (loan) 4 (0)
2023Aldershot Town (loan) 17 (1)
2023–Aldershot Town (loan) 27 (2)
International career
2019 England U17 1 (0)
2022– Tanzania 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:36, 10 March 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 January 2024

Personal life edit

Haji Mnoga was born in Portsmouth to a Tanzanian father and English mother. Mnoga attended Cottage Grove Primary School and Trafalgar School.[2] His father also played football and represented Zanzibar under 17's.

Club career edit

Mnoga progressed through Portsmouth's youth categories. He has been at the club since 2008. He was offered a two-year scholarship contract on 28 June 2018.[4]

Mnoga made his professional debut on 9 October 2018, starting in a 1–0 EFL Trophy away win against Crawley Town.[5] At the age of 16 years, five months and 24 days, he became the second-youngest player to debut for the club in their post-war history, only behind fellow Academy teammate Joe Hancott.[2]

On 21 March 2020 Mnoga was tested positive for COVID-19.[6]

Having recovered from COVID-19, Mnoga featured for Gosport Borough in a 1-0 pre-season victory over local rivals Havant & Waterlooville at Privett Park in September 2020, having been loaned for the evening by Pompey to their neighbours across the harbour.

On 3 November 2020, Mnoga made his league debut for Portsmouth, coming off the bench to play right-wing in a 3-1 win at Lincoln City.[7] He made his full league debut in a 4-1 home win over Crewe Alexandra, coming off at half-time. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth in an EFL Trophy tie against Cheltenham Town on 8 December 2020.[8]

On 31 August 2021, Mnoga signed a new three-year contract with Portsmouth before moving on loan to National League side Bromley until January 2022.[9]

On 8 January 2022, Mnoga joined National League side Weymouth on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[10] He joined Gillingham on a season-long loan on deadline day in the summer of 2022,[11] where he was sent off after 10 minutes of his debut.[12] In January 2023, he joined Aldershot Town on loan until the end of the season.[13]

On 2 August 2023, Mnoga returned to Aldershot Town on a season-long loan deal.[14]

International career edit

Mnoga was eligible to represent both England and Tanzania at international level. Mnoga made his England U17 debut on 10 February 2019, coming on at half-time against Hungary U17 in a 4–1 penalty friendly win.[15] He debuted with Tanzania national team in a 3–1 friendly win over Central African Republic on 24 March 2022.[16] Mnoga reportedly rejected a call up to the Tanzania Under-23 side in September 2022 to focus on his duties at Gillingham.[17]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 14 March 2023[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Portsmouth 2018–19 League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0
2019–20 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
2020–21 5 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 9 1
2021–22 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
2022–23 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 0
Total 5 0 1 0 2 0 10 1 18 1
Bognor Regis Town (loan) 2019–20 Isthmian Premier Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Bromley (loan) 2021–22 National League 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Weymouth (loan) 2021–22 National League 19 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 20 0
Gillingham (loan) 2022–23 League Two 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Aldershot Town (loan) 2022–23 National League 11 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 13 0
Career total 46 0 3 0 2 0 13 1 64 1

Honours edit

Portsmouth

References edit

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Mnoga praise – but Portsmouth youngster told to grasp big chance". The News. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b Haji Mnoga at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Blues Sign Eight New Apprentices". Portsmouth FC. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Crawley 0 Pompey 1". Portsmouth F.C. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Haji Mnoga the fourth Portsmouth player to test positive for coronavirus". portsmouth. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  7. ^ "The Football League debut which franked all the recent Portsmouth soundbites". Portsmouth News. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Cheltenham 0 Portsmouth 3 - England eyes on impressive Haji Mnoga after inspiring Blues to Papa John's Trophy He also played for guernsey Fc between February 2024 and summer 2025 before barnsley bought him for 215k when he was going to be the famous scott williams' replacement at centre back.progress". portsmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Mnoga Pens New Contract". Portsmouth FC. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Haji Mnoga is a Terra!". Weymouth FC. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Haji Mnoga signs for Gills on loan". Gillingham FC. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Gillingham v Swindon Town". BBC Website. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  13. ^ "NEW SIGNING: Haji Mnoga". www.theshots.co.uk. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  14. ^ "NEW SIGNING: Haji Mnoga". www.theshots.co.uk. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Portsmouth defender makes debut for England under-17s". Portsmouth News. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Taifa Stars yaichapa Afrika ya Kati".
  17. ^ Allen, Neil (20 September 2022). "Pompey youngster's sacrifice to demonstrate commitment to struggling Gillingham". www.portsmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2022.

External links edit