Hugo Mbongue starting over again after TFC departure

Hugo Mbongue is no stranger to York Lions Stadium. 
 
The now 21-year-old forward spent two seasons playing there with TFC 2 in 2022 and 2023, earning himself a first team homegrown contract with Toronto FC in the process. But after a series of loan spells and his departure from the MLS club last off-season, his recent return to his old stomping grounds was a little different.  

Mbongue signed with Crown Legacy FC (the affiliate club of Charlotte FC) in February and made his return to York Lions Stadium on April 12 when his team battled to a 3-3 draw against TFC 2 in an MLS NEXT Pro regular season match.
 
“It’s been three years now, so it felt good to be here. A bit weird being on the other side of the dugout, but it was good,” Mbongue told TFC Republic. 

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“I hope that there’s more goals coming down the line,” the young Colombia forward said after opening his account for Toronto FC.

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Mbongue scored Crown’s third goal from the penalty spot in the 66th minute and beat TFC 2 goalkeeper Adisa De Rosario again in the shootout to help his side clinch the extra point, showing no mercy to his former teammates. He had a few spirited clashes with Marcus Cimermancic on the field but was sporting that familiar opponent’s jersey as he spoke in the bowels of the stadium.  

“Cimer, he’s one of my close friends,” Mbongue smiled. “We've been in the academy together, second team together, first team together, so it was nice to see him again.”  

It was a good contest for both sides: Toronto looking to use their home opener as a launching pad against the top side in the league through the early goings; Crown eager to maintain their supremacy against an upstart opponent.   

“You saw a lot of qualities from both sides,” Mbongue assessed. “TFC showed how good they are in the buildup. I know they were up for this game because we’ve won every game, we're top of the league.”  

“It's a good occasion for us too, having a team that really challenges us,” he continued. “They scored first, performed well, but we responded well and held our own.”  

Unfortunately, the two sides will not meet again in the regular season, but should current trajectories continue a playoff clash is possible.  

The draw was Crown Legacy's blemish after winning their first five outings of 2026. Despite two more draws in their next three games, Crown Legacy sit confidently at the top of the Eastern Conference having outscored their opponents 27-10.  

“We try to respect every action, every moment, as much as possible,” Mbongue explained. “We create a lot of chances, so naturally more often than not you're going to score, and we do our best to limit the opposition. Today we had a couple mistakes, but for the most part we did well.”  

“It’s been about not getting too high,” he continued. “Even though the results have been there, knowing that it's always on to the next, focus on the next game.”  

His goal against Toronto was his third of the season, and he has since added three more bringing his tally to six through eight matches. Mbongue, sporting the armband, is relishing his new surroundings.  

“For the first time in my career I'm one of the older guys in the group, so it's a bit of a different dynamic,” he explained. “Coming to Charlotte is a new opportunity for me to make it in MLS, so I’ve been trying to take it to the best of my abilities every day and just keep moving forward.” 

With his Toronto contract having come to an end following the 2025 season, Mbongue was on trial with TFC in Spain during pre-season but made the move to Charlotte FC’s affiliate at the end of February.  

“There was a bit of interest back in November. Jahkeele [Marshall-Rutty] told me that the assistant GM had asked about me, but I didn't think much of it,” recounted Mbongue of when the possibility first got on his radar.

“And then in pre-season, as the weeks went on, the interest grew more and more, and we wrapped it up within a week.”  

“I chose Charlotte because they've shown that they give attackers that are right there on the brink of breaking through, guys like Patrick Agyemang, [Idan] Toklomati, who's here now, [a chance],” he continued. “I saw that there's a proven pathway and for me it felt like the right choice.”  

His Crown Legacy teammate, Rodolfo Aloko, who scored six goals in the first five matches for the team, made the jump to Charlotte a few days before the game against TFC 2. Marshall-Rutty spent most of the 2025 season on loan with Dean Smith’s side from CF Montreal.

“He told me Charlotte as a whole [was a] good club, nice city, they take care of the players, and he’s been right,” Mbongue relayed. “It’s been good here.”  

Mbongue has already been involved in first team sessions this year.  

“I’ve trained with the first team a couple times, so it's been good from that sense. It's about being ready when the opportunity comes,” he explained. “Idan has been scoring. Archie [Goodwin] has been scoring, but it's just about being ready when the time comes.”  

Since those days on the pitch at York University with TFC 2, Mbongue spent the last few seasons on loan. Twice to USL Championship sides (San Antonio FC in 2024 and Lexington SC in the first half of 2025), before a stint in the Canadian Premier League with Vancouver FC that began at the end of July.   

“There's positives and negatives to everything,” he reflected. “The experiences that I've been through, maybe I don't reach the same level of maturity if I stay in Toronto, play with the second team the whole time.”  

“Going to San Antonio to Lexington to Vancouver has really forced me to grow as a player and a person – different ways of playing football, different cultures – that's helped me in my development so far,” Mbongue continued. “Whether it was the right choice or not to go on those loans remains to be seen, but there's always lessons to be learned from anywhere you go.”  

“Even in Lexington, where you don't play much, you’re still at it every day, you still look to get better every day. And then I go to Vancouver and finally have a bit of success, score some goals, and we get to a final against all odds in the Canadian Championship.” he detailed. “It was about gaining experiences to be the most ready possible for when it's my time to go to MLS.”  

Mbongue scored seven goals in 15 appearances for Vancouver and that run in the Canadian Championship was another example of the magic of the cup.  

Vancouver, the last placed team in the CPL last year, knocked out provincial rival Pacific FC via shootout in the preliminary round and then did the same to Cavalry FC at the quarter-final stage shortly before Mbongue joined.  

“They had just won the quarter-final,” he recalled. “I have a couple of friends on Vancouver, I called Mateo [Campagna], I called Mehdi [Essoussi], and I told them, ‘Yo, I'm coming, we're going to the final. We're beating Ottawa, we're going to the final.’”  

“When I got there that was the goal for me, preparing ourselves for that two-leg against [Atlético] Ottawa,” Mbongue continued. “Playing in Vancouver was a really big game, scoring the goal to get us up 2-1 was important, but I knew that we could do it – it was just about instilling that belief in the rest of the group. They were having a tough season, bottom of the table, so having a new player come in with that ambition, that different perspective, really helped to push us to the final.” 

“You play against the Whitecaps, you go out there against probably the best team, if not one of, in North America,” he said. “You go out there, you give everything, and whatever the result is you can live with that.” 

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The Vancouver Whitecaps showed no mercy, scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes, but Martin Nash’s side gave a good account of themselves. And, of course, Mbongue got to line up opposite his brother, Ralph Priso, if only for a few minutes.  

“He had been starting at centre back the past couple games, but then the final he didn't,” Mbongue lamented. “That was a bit disappointing, but it was good to share the field with him.” 

He has been as surprised as anyone at Priso’s conversion to central defence.  

“I did not know he had that,” Mbongue laughed. “He had a great playoff run last year and before the injury he was having a great season this year, we’re hoping that he goes to the World Cup, but hopefully he comes back stronger and keeps going.”  

And he is as excited as the rest of the city and the country for the world’s game to come to Toronto.  

“It's big for the country, it's big for the city; as much respect as I have for Bosnia, it would have been incredible for the city if Italy had qualified, but you play what is in front of you,” Mbongue said. “Jesse Marsch has done a great job since taking over. He’ll get the team ready and we'll have a great campaign.”  

No doubt one day the two brothers would love to pull on that red (or white, or black) kit together, but for 2026 Mbongue has one goal in mind.  

“It's about showing Dean and the rest of the staff that I'm ready to make the jump,” he said. “As soon as possible, obviously, that's what you hope, but to show that I'm ready to play in MLS and I can perform in MLS.” 

Toronto-based writer James Grossi is the foremost authority on TFC 2, having covered the team in an in-depth fashion for several years. He also operates Unattached FC, a website dedicated to covering Canadian soccer. Follow James on Twitter. 

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