Blom is a South African national team midfielder who earned his first call up in 2021.
St. Louis CITY SC acquired Kaizer Chiefs F.C. midfielder Njabulo Blom , pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa, via an undisclosed transfer fee, the club announced. Blom signed a two-year contract that runs through the end of the 2024 MLS regular season with two option years in 2025 and 2026.
“We are excited to bring a young South African national team player like Blom to our squad and St. Louis”, said Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel. “His ball-winning, super aggressive, warrior qualities as a central defensive midfielder match what we are looking for in our philosophy. Blom’s addition to our team is exactly the missing puzzle piece we needed.”
Blom, 23, played for one of the top clubs in South Africa, Kaizer Chiefs F.C., which was also a former club of Head Coach Bradley Carnell. The Gauteng, South Africa, native has played in 13 matches across all competitions during the 2022-23 season while also receiving call-ups to the South African national team during the September and November FIFA windows. Blom has helped Kaizer Chiefs to fourth place currently with a 6-3-4 mark in the top division of South Africa.
Blom earned his contract with Kaizer Chiefs at 19 years old and has played for them for the last four seasons. The 23-year-old defensive midfielder has accrued 94 matches across all competitions and helped lead Kaizer Chiefs to a second-place finish in the South African Premier League during the 2019-20 season, which was their highest finish since 2014-15.
For country, Blom began at the youth national level for the Under-20 squad. He guided the U-20 team to a third-place finish in the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in 2019, where he played in four of the five matches. Blom then played in all three matches with the U-20 team in the 2019 U-20 World Cup. Following a successful run with the U-20, he earned his first call up with the senior national team on June 10, 2021 for an international friendly against Uganda. Since then, Blom has tallied five call ups, including his participation in the World Cup Qualifiers where he recorded his first cap for the national team against Ghana on September 6, 2021.
TRANSACTION: St. Louis CITY SC acquired Kaizer Chiefs F.C. midfielder Njabulo Blom, pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa via an undisclosed transfer fee on December 23, 2022. Blom signed a two-year contract that runs through the end of the 2024 MLS regular season with two options years in 2025 and 2026.
NJABULO BLOM
Position: Midfield
DOB: 12/11/99 (23)
Birthplace: Dobsonville, Guateng, South Africa
Height: 5’ 8”
Nationality: South Africa
Last Club: Kaizer Chiefs F.C.
2023 St. Louis CITY SC ROSTER (22)
Goalkeeper (1) – Roman Bürki+
Defenders (8) - Center back: Jonathan Bell, Kyle Hiebert, Joakim Nilsson+, Tim Parker, Josh Yaro; Wing back: John Nelson, Jake Nerwinski, Selmir Pidro+
Midfielders (10) - Winger: Rasmus Alm+,_ Aziel Jackson, Isak Jensen+, Tomáš Ostrák+, Celio Pompeu, Max Schneider, Jared Stroud, Indiana Vassilev; Central Mid: Njabulo Blom+, Eduard Löwen+, Akil Watts
Forward (2) – João Klauss+, Nico Gioacchini, Samuel Adeniran
Designated Players (2) – Eduard Löwen, João Klauss
+ International player
