EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC announced on Wednesday it had signed forward Tumi Moshobane ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval. 

The 29-year-old South African joins El Paso after four seasons in the Championship with San Diego Loyal SC, where he became the club’s all-time goalscoring (25) and appearance leader (114) while logging 6,881 minutes of action. Moshobane also recorded 14 assists for SD Loyal.

"Tumi is a player we are very excited to welcome to Locomotive and the city of El Paso,” said Locomotive FC Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut. “He is a dynamic and versatile player who is fantastic on the dribble, bringing a quickness and speed that can help us unlock teams and score goals. He’ll bring another dimension to our squad, and I have no doubt he will thrive in the El Paso environment.” 

"I’m eagerly looking forward to my new journey with El Paso Locomotive FC and I hope to bring something special to the club,” said Moshobane. “I will work to bring flair and passion to the pitch and to help build and strengthen a great community off the field.”

Analysis

Tumi Moshobane joins El Paso Locomotive FC as an experienced forward that can serve as a starter for his new side but could arguably be at his most useful as a spark off the bench in Head Coach Brian Clarhaut’s forward rotation.

The veteran has produced a solid shooting accuracy rate (61 percent) and shot conversion rate (23.81 percent) in the past four seasons with SD Loyal, but eight of his 25 goals for the team came as a substitute, almost one-third in all. In 40 appearances as a substitute, Moshobane’s strike rate dropped to a goal every 151.4 minutes, compared to 333.5 minutes per goal in his 74 games as a starter. That makes him a potential gamechanger every time he can use his skillful footwork and speed coming into a game.