Bernard Kamungo grew up in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Kigoma, Tanzania, playing 3v3 in the streets with soccer balls made of cotton and clothing while using friends’ slippers for goalposts.
Now 22, Kamungo competes on the Bermuda grass of Toyota Stadium, under the bright lights. In his third season with FC Dallas, he is living the American dream this Fourth of July.
“Just with the opportunity I got here in America is so great,” Kamungo told The Dallas Morning News. “Living the American dream, for sure.”
He is a staple on FCD’s wing with his speed and technical ability, making 20 appearances and seven starts already this season.
“I don’t know what to say,” Kamungo said. “This has always been my dream to play for FC Dallas, and now I’m playing my dream.”
The forward is proud to call himself an American. He moved to Abilene in 2016 with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and became a U.S. citizen in 2022.
He even wore the red, white, and blue for the United States men’s national team in a friendly last January.
“I keep claiming Texas anytime,” he said. “Everywhere I go, I tell people I’m from Texas.”
Although Kamungo will spend this Fourth of July on the pitch playing against the Portland Timbers, the holiday is usually a cherished family affair.
“It is very special to me,” he said. “I remember the first time celebrating. My mom cooked, and she invited everybody to just have a meal and enjoy. I feel like it’s the day that we all come together and just enjoy every meal that we can as a family. So for me, it just means family, just sticking together and celebrating the moment.”
Growing up in Tanzania
As a child, Kamungo’s life revolved around soccer. That’s just how it was for kids in his Kasulu neighborhood.
“For me, it was simple,” Kamungo said. “I would go to school for about four or five hours, and by 1 or 2 p.m., I would be home kicking a ball. There was nothing else. After school, we only had one goal in mind. Let me go home, change, and start playing soccer.”
Soccer was a source of happiness amid hardship. Kamungo was born a Congolese refugee after his parents fled the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Resources were limited in the refugee camp. Kamungo’s family did not have running water or electricity. Sometimes, there was only enough food to eat once a day.
“It wasn’t easy,” Kamungo said. “As a kid, you always want everything. You want your parents to give you almost everything that you want. Growing up, I never got that because my parents were struggling to give us food.”
So Kamungo spent his days walking up and down the dirt road, gathering kids to play pickup.
“We played in the streets,” Kamungo said. “There were trees around. We organized 2v2, 3v3, depending on how our friends were feeling. We walked around the street and then we got a little scrimmage, playing against each other for as long as we could. When we got tired, it was over, and everyone went to sleep.”
They used shoes, slippers, or bricks to form goals. He and his friends handmade a new soccer ball each day. Kamungo’s father worked in the hospital as a cleaner, frequently bringing home cotton and gloves for materials.
Even at a young age, there were signs Kamungo had serious talent, but he did not think twice about it.
“My friends always wanted to be on the same team as me,” he said. “They always wanted me to be on the field and play more forward and just get on the ball. I had a few people going to my parents and telling my parents how talented I am.
“To me, it was never a big deal because I thought everybody was good. I guess that is what everybody does in Tanzania, and they never go anywhere. It is just a normal thing.”
Kamungo grew accustomed to playing on the uneven surface, refining his touch in the process. He cultivated his signature move, the stepover, on that surface, and he still relies on it today.
“It always comes naturally,” Kamungo said. “I don’t plan to do it. It just comes every time I’m facing a defender. I just see myself doing it.”
Moving to Abilene
In 2016, Kamungo saw his name written on the refugee camp’s announcement wall, stating that the IRC would send his family to the States within a month’s time. The IRC is a global humanitarian aid and relief nongovernmental organization with a Dallas branch.
Kamungo was 14 and so excited that he could not sleep.
“I was thinking about it the whole time for at least two days in a row,” Kamungo said. “I was just thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to the United States.’ One of the reasons is that I just knew I would be able to get almost everything I ever wanted as a kid. That was the biggest thing for me, thinking I’m going to sleep good, I’m going to eat good, I’m going to take a shower whenever I want to. I can do anything that was kind of impossible in a refugee camp.”
After watching countless movies that pan iconic American skylines, Kamungo naturally thought his new home would be in a skyscraper. When the IRC brought Kamungo’s family to their home in rural Abilene, he was a little disappointed to see no skyscrapers.
“I remember we landed at the airport, and they took us to the house,” Kamungo said. “I thought it was a hotel. They told us that we would be living there, but it was all in English, so I never knew. I thought, ‘Oh, this is probably just a hotel and then we are going to go to our house because I thought we were going to live in one of those big, big buildings.’ And then it was just like a normal house that had almost everything. It was a house with a fridge, food, couches and bedrooms. It was great, a really good experience. But I was a little disappointed, though.”
Kamungo came to love quiet Abilene.
“There’s not a lot of stuff going on there, and that is just the way I like to live,” he said. “I could feel like myself when in a place like that.”
He picked up English quickly, surrounded by other eighth-graders from Tanzania, Burundi, and the Congo who also spoke Swahili but were eager to learn English, too.
And soccer continued to be an important part of his life. The forward was an offensive powerhouse for Abilene High School and captained the soccer team his junior and senior years.
“From the beginning, it was incredible,” said Kyle Riese, Abilene’s then-varsity soccer coach. “Sophomore year, he started probably every game for us. Junior and senior year, he led the team. His senior year, before he signed with North Texas SC, he was averaging three goals a game, which is ridiculous. Every single coach we played would tell me that this was the best high school player they’ve ever seen.”
Going pro
Even if Kamungo could not see it, his older brother, Imani, knew Kamungo was destined for greatness.
Imani began searching online for professional tryouts, and after sifting through those with participation fees as high as $500, Imani found a tryout for just $90 with FCD’s MLS reserve team, North Texas SC.
He signed Kamungo up for the January 2021 trial, during the high school soccer season and five months before the younger brother’s graduation date.
“I remember before the tryout, I was so nervous, but I never told my brother how nervous I was,” Kamungo said. “I was just there tying my shoes and getting myself ready. People came around. I could see these guys were so big, bigger than me, and I thought, ‘No way I’m going through.’”
But Kamungo settled in and impressed coach Eric Quill, who called him the next day with interest.
“I don’t remember a lot of things these days, but I vividly remember him,” Quill said. “He was a special talent.”
“He was dribbling through people like they were cones,” Quill added.
Kamungo signed a professional contract March 25, transferring to online school and relinquishing the rest of his high school soccer career.
Kamungo proved a surefire signee.
He made his debut April 24 against Fort Lauderdale, coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute and scoring his first professional goal just eight minutes later. The match ended in a 4-2 victory.
“He gets the ball on the right side of the box, and he does like three stepovers and just breaks the guy’s ankles, bends it to the far post to the top part of the goal,” Quill said. “It was fluid, it was skillful, it was savvy, it was poised. It was amazing that a kid at an open tryout a few weeks before just came into a professional game and made it look like he’s been playing a hundred of them.”
Kamungo became North Texas SC’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals in 52 appearances over three seasons.
Joining FC Dallas
It was only a matter of time before FCD picked up the phone to offer Kamungo a contract.
And again, his reaction was disbelief.
“I remember talking to my agent, and he said, ‘Guess what? FC Dallas offered you a contract,’” Kamungo said. “I was like, ‘No way.’ My agent used to stay in Florida if I’m not mistaken. So I said, ‘If this is real, show up. I want you to show up here tomorrow.’ This is what I told him on the phone, and he showed up two days later with a contract.”
Kamungo signed a four-year contract Aug. 30, 2022, going from high school soccer to the big leagues in just 20 months.
He scored his first goal April 15, 2023, against Real Salt Lake in the 88th minute, the game-winner in 2-1 FCD victory.
He finished the 2023 regular season as FCD’s second-leading scorer with six goals, behind Jesus Ferreira. Of the six, three were game-winners and two earned crucial draws.
The striker recorded eight goals and three assists in 24 total games that year, including a goal against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup.
Kamungo was placed No. 19 in MLS’ 22 Under 22 List, which honors the best young players in the league.
In 2024, he has made 20 regular season appearances with seven starts and three assists.
“I can’t think of anything else better than playing for FC Dallas, especially with the fans and the culture over here,” Kamungo said. “It is all about family. They think about you first and everything else comes later. Just being able to play with these amazing players out here, and the players that have experience share a lot of that experience with me. It gives me confidence to just be myself.”
“They have a big poster of him in the stadium,” said Riese, his old high school coach who sits behind the bench every home game to cheer on Kamungo. “It is really cool walking in right by the entrance. I walk in every night, and he is right there. It’s a pretty cool experience and a reminder of all the work that he’s putting in and how much he deserves this.”
His childhood friends from Tanzania, who now live in Indiana and Michigan, watch his games on television and often call him the day after.
“Every time I talk on the phone with them, I’m like, ‘Who would have thought that I would be here right now?’” Kamungo said. “I feel like they’re the ones that made me better because they had a soccer ball, we played together, they called me to come over. Whenever I used to stay in, they would say, ‘Hey, let’s go kick some balls.’ I always appreciate them and tell them thank you for everything that they did for me. Because without those guys, I don’t know where I would have been.”
American pride
Kamungo has lived in the United States for eight years now and feels proud to call America, and especially Abilene, his home. He became a U.S. citizen on May 24, 2022.
“I can’t forget Abilene,” Kamungo said, “Abilene is my home. That is where Bernard came from. I feel like without Abilene, there’s no Bernard.”
Since becoming a citizen, Kamungo has had the opportunity to showcase his patriotism on an international stage. He was called up to the U.S. men’s national U-23 team last October ahead of friendlies against Mexico and Japan.
Kamungo helped Team USA to a 2-1 win against Mexico, assisting the game-winner in the 90th minute. He was also integral to USA’s 4-1 victory over Japan, assisting on the second goal in the 45th minute.
The striker debuted for the senior men’s national team Jan. 20 in a friendly against Slovenia, after attending the annual week-long January training camp. Kamungo started the match at right wing.
“It was always a dream to play for the national team, somewhere I could call home and say that I’m going to stay here and just play here for the rest of my career,” Kamungo said. “Being able to represent the USA is big-time for me. I feel like it’s going to stick with me my whole life.”
Kamungo could not fathom the heights he has reached.
“For me, one thing was just opportunities. Growing up, you don’t see anything. You don’t see the light. All you see is the same thing over and over again, and there is no light at all. No one comes up to you and says, ‘Oh, I’m going to help this person.’ Nobody from that refugee camp goes out and turns into a big-time player or anything bigger. There was nothing like that. Just because of that, I never really cared so much. I thought it was impossible.”
But now, in front of thousands of cheering fans, Kamungo will take the pitch, the very dream he thought impossible.
And he’ll do it under the Fourth of July fireworks, a symbol of all he has achieved since coming to America.
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