Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (born 12 August 1989) is a Belgian international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger. He established himself in Belgian football with

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

before experiencing the

English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

with a loan spell at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. In 2011, he returned to Belgium to join

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

Club career

Mujangi Bia emigrated with his family from

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Zellik Zellik is an urbanised town with over 8,000 inhabitants in the municipality of Asse, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. As a suburb on the northwest edge of Brussels, it is separated from the rest of the agglomeration by the R0 ring roa ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

as a young child. He began his football career on the books of the Brussels-based club

Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional football club from Brussels based in Forest. Founded in 1897 in the neighbouring Saint-Gilles, the club has played its home ...

, before being spotted by

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

. Although one of their academy's most promising players, he was released by the club. After some months without a club, he joined

where he made his professional debut on 17 December 2006 in 0–1 defeat at Zulte Waregem, the first of three appearances that season. He scored his first senior goals the following season (3), before 2008–09 saw his most appearances yet as he played 28 league games. The midfielder joined

club

on loan on 21 January 2010 for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. He made his debut in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

on 23 January 2010. His Premier League debut followed as a substitute in a 2–2 draw at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

, one of three league appearances that season. At the season's end it was announced he would also spend the 2010–11 season with Wolves. Mujangi Bia failed to break into Wolves' first team plans during the next season, making just one league appearance, as a late substitute at

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. He scored his only goal for Wolves in a 5–0

victory over

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

team

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. In April 2011 it was announced that he would transfer to

on a three-year deal once the transfer window re-opened in the summer. The winger featured for Standard throughout the 2011–12 season as the club ended in fifth place. However, in August 2012, he was told he was no longer involved in the club's plans, and on 25 August signed for

English Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divis ...

club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on a season-long loan deal, having already agreed to a long-term permanent contract; this will commence in summer 2013 if this option is exercised by Watford. He made his Watford debut on 28 August 2012 in their League Cup exit to eventual finalists

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. After making two league appearances for Watford in the early part of the season, Bia made his first league appearance since the back end of 2012 as a substitute in a 0–1 defeat to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on 16 March 2013. During the 2014–15 season Bia scored 14 and created a further 7 goals for

. However, after a row with coach

Slavoljub Muslin Slavoljub Muslin ( sr-Cyrl, Славољуб Муслин, ; born 15 June 1953) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Muslin began his head coaching career in 1988 and has since had stints in France, Morocco, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine ...

Bia found himself in the B team. During the summer of 2015 a proposed move to

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

fell through after they announced the signing of Hungarian Dzsudzsák. Finally Bia signed a three-year deal with

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

side

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Plac ...

. On 10 May 2018, Bia helped

Akhisar Belediyespor Akhisarspor Kulübü (), commonly known as Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.

win their first professional trophy, the

2017–18 Turkish Cup The 2017–18 Turkish Cup () was the 56th season of the tournament. Ziraat Bankası is the sponsor of the tournament; thus the official name due to sponsorship was the Ziraat Turkish Cup. As the winners of the tournament, Akhisar Belediyespor, Akh ...

. On 5 February 2018 Bia was fired by his club

KSC Lokeren Koninklijke Sporting Club Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen (), often simply called Sporting Lokeren or Lokeren, was a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Lokeren, in the province of East Flanders. The club was founded in 1923 but ce ...

on "grounds of urgency". After not playing in 2021, on 28 January 2022 Mujangi Bia joined

Virton Virton (; Gaumais: ''Viertån''; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is also the administrative centre of the district (''arrondissement'') of the same name, as well as the principal town ...

Honours

;Akhisarspor *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

(1): 2017–18

Career statistics

International career

Mujangi Bia turned down his birthplace

to instead represent the

Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association football, football since Évence Coppée Trophy, their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in E ...

. He made his international debut on 29 May 2009 in a

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...

draw against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. He has previously also played for Belgium at under-21 level.

References

External links

* *
Guardian Football
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mujangi Bia, Geoffrey 1989 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Kinshasa Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's international footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Belgian sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Royal Charleroi S.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Watford F.C. players Standard Liège players FC Sion players Kayserispor footballers Akhisarspor footballers K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players R.E. Virton players Belgian Pro League players Premier League players English Football League players Swiss Super League players Süper Lig players Liga Leumit players Challenger Pro League players Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Belgium Belgian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Israel 21st-century Belgian sportsmen 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo sportsmen