Wilfred Bamnjo

Wilfred Bamnjo
Personal information
Full nameWilfred Ndzedzeni Bamnjo
Date of birth27 March 1980
Place of birthYaounde, Cameroon
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionDefensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
Happy Valley
Number8
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2003–2004Kitchee
2004–2005Persijatim21(1)
2005–2007Kitchee
2007–2008Persikota23(3)
2008–2009Kitchee
2009–2011Sun Hei
2011–2012Tuen Mun SA
2012–2013Biu Chun Rangers11(2)
2013–Happy Valley0(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 June 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).

Wilfred Bamnjo (Chinese: 賓曹born 27 March 1980 in Cameroon) is a Cameroonian football player who currently plays for Hong Kong First Division League club Happy Valley. His position is defensive midfielder. Supporters have given Bamnjo a nickname of "Hong Kong Makélélé".

Biography

Kitchee SC

Bamnjo played for Kitchee SC, then a newly promoted club in the Hong Kong First Division, during the 2003–04 season.[1] On 16 November 2003, Bamnjo scored his first goal for Kitchee, an equaliser, in a 3–1 win against Fukien Athletic Club.[2]

Persijatim

Bamnjo joined Indonesian top-flight club Persijatim during the 2004–05 season.[3]

Kitchee SC

Bamnjo rejoined Kitchee after a season in Indonesia.[3] On 11 December 2005, Bamnjo scored the winner for Kitchee in a 4–3 win against Happy Valley AA in the Hong Kong League Cup Final – Kitchee's first silverware in 41 years.[4] Bamnjo also played in the Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield Final, in which he scored a disallowed goal in a 3–0 win against Happy Valley AA.[5] This is Kitchee's second trophy in the 2005–06 season.[5]

In the 2006–07 season, Bamnjo scored 4 goals in the Hong Kong First Division and helped Kitchee finished as runner-up in the league. Bamnjo was injured during warm-up in the Hong Kong League Cup Final,[6] in which Kitchee beat Happy Valley AA 2–1 to win the trophy two years in a row.[7]

On 21 July 2007, it was reported that Bamnjo tried to engineer a move to Indonesia side Persikota Tangerang without Kitchee's permission and did not return to training after the summer break.[8][9] Bamnjo eventually returned to Kitchee in October in time for the 2007–08 season.[10] Bamnjo was suspended and did not play in the 1–3 loss against Eastern AA in the Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield Final.[11][12] Bamnjo did played in the Hong Kong League Cup Final, in which he scored in a 2–4 loss to South China AA.[13]

Sun Hei

Bamnjo joined Sun Hei for the 2008–09 season following his release from Kitchee. On 29 November 2008, Bamnjo scored two goals to knock his former club Kitchee out of the Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield quarter-final with a 3–2 win.[14]

Tuen Mun SA

Bamnjo played for Tuen Mun SA, a club that was in the Hong Kong First Division, during the 2011–12 season. He was released by Tuen Mun in July 2012.[15]

Biu Chun Rangers

On 28 September 2012, Bamnjo joined Biu Chun Rangers for free after being released by Tuen Mun.[16]

Happy Valley AA

In June 2013, Bamnjo joined Happy Valley AA, a club that was newly promoted back to the Hong Kong First Division for the 2013–14 season.[17] On 5 January 2014, Bamnjo was one of the seven players and coaching staff arrested by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for allegations with match-fixing.[18][19] On 6 January 2014, the homes of Bamnjo and five other Happy Valley players were raided by the ICAC as the officials stepped up their investigation into alleged match-fixing.[20] On 10 January 2014, Bamnjo, who was released on bail, returned to training for the first time since the match-fixing scandal.[21] On 12 February 2014, Bamnjo's season was effectively finished as Happy Valley AA, the club that Bamnjo played for, was suspended by the Hong Kong Football Association from all league and FA Cup fixtures for the rest of the 2013–14 season.[22] On 21 February 2014, it has emerged that contracted Happy Valley players (including Bamnjo) may not get paid from March onward because of Happy Valley's suspension from the League.[23] Despite being contracted with Happy Valley, an official from the HKFA was quoted that Bamnjo is free to seek transfer to clubs overseas.[23] On 26 March 2014, Bamnjo (and other Happy Valley players) went to the Hong Kong Labour Department to make claims against Happy Valley AA for unpaid and outstanding wages worth around 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.[24] On 12 June 2014, Bamnjo won the court case against Happy Valley AA for unpaid wages and was awarded 57,500 Hong Kong dollars in settlement.[25]

Honours

With Kitchee:

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 傑志作客擊敗南城地產 (in Chinese). Hong Kong Football Association. 20 October 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  2. ↑ 殘陣出擊 苦戰而敗 消防福建同告失分 (in Chinese). Hong Kong Football Association. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "WILFRED BAMNJO. BIOGRAPHY". footballtop.com.
  4. ↑ 傑志41年來首捧盃 (in Chinese). Sing Tao Daily. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 傑志三球淨勝愉園 高級銀牌決賽摘冠 (in Chinese). Hong Kong Football Association. 18 March 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  6. ↑ 傑志賓曹骨裂4周 (in Chinese). Apple Daily. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. ↑ 聯賽盃決賽 – 愉園 1:2 傑志 (in Chinese). Hong Kong Football Association. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  8. ↑ 愉園傑志開操謝雷賓曹失蹤 (in Chinese). The Sun. 21 July 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  9. ↑ 傑志不會用盡外援額 (in Chinese). Ta Kung Pao. 21 July 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  10. ↑ 傑志賓曹延遲報到 (in Chinese). Apple Daily. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  11. ↑ 東方爆冷捧銀牌 (in Chinese). Wen Wei Po. 24 December 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  12. ↑ 傑志東方今開戰爭銀牌冠軍 (in Chinese). Ta Kung Po. 23 December 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  13. ↑ 聯賽盃決賽 南華 4:2 傑志 (in Chinese). Hong Kong Football Association. 24 March 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  14. ↑ 高級組銀牌傑志2:3負晨曦出局 (in Chinese). 香港新浪. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  15. ↑ 屯門棄賓曹亞古沙 (in Chinese). Ta Kung Pao. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  16. ↑ 南區地獄主場搶1分. Ming Pao (in Chinese). 30 September 2012.
  17. ↑ 愉園羅致亞古沙 賓曹 (in Chinese). Wen Wei Po. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  18. ↑ "Happy Valley in match-fixing probe". The Standard. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "As ICAC probes alleged match-fixing, HKFA vows to step up checks on club backers". South China Morning Post. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  20. ↑ "Homes raided in football-fix probe". The Standard. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  21. ↑ 愉園前總監: 無吞贊助 (in Chinese). Sing Tao Daily. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  22. ↑ "Happy Valley and Tuen Mun football clubs suspended from league amid match-fixing probe". South China Morning Post. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "With Happy Valley suspended, players are unlikely to be paid". South China Morning Post. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  24. ↑ 愉園十球員追十萬欠薪 (in Chinese). Metro. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  25. ↑ 愉園兩外援追欠薪　獲賠5.75萬 (in Chinese). Apple Daily. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015.

External links