| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bryant Akono Bilongo [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 15 September 2001 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Wandsworth, England [1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bristol Rovers | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| AFC Wimbledon | |||
| Hanworth Villa | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | Hanworth Villa | 10 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Kingstonian | 20 | (1) |
| 2022–2024 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Woking (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Ebbsfleet United (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2024– | Bristol Rovers | 14 | (1) |
| 2025 | → Harrogate Town (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:37, 8 May 2025 (UTC) | |||
Bryant Akono Bilongo (born 15 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Bristol Rovers.
Released by AFC Wimbledon at a young age, [3] Bilongo went on to join Hanworth Villa youth side [4] before eventually making the step up into the first-team during the 2020–21 campaign, in which he featured ten times. [5]
Following his breakthrough season, Bilongo joined Isthmian League Premier Division side, Kingstonian in June 2021. [3] Impressing early on, his form attracted the attention of both Football League and Premier League sides, including Chelsea who subsequently trialled the full-back in October 2021. [6] Despite this, Bilongo agreed to join Middlesbrough three months later for an undisclosed fee. [7] On 10 August 2022, he made his first-team debut for Middlesbrough, replacing Paddy McNair during an EFL Cup first round tie defeat against Barnsley, with half an hour remaining. [8] On 29 October 2022, he joined National League side, Woking on a one-month loan. [9] Bilongo went onto feature twice for the Cards before returning to Middlesbrough in November.
On 1 February 2024, Bilongo joined National League club Ebbsfleet United on loan until the end of the season. [10]
On 28 June 2024, Bilongo signed for League One side Bristol Rovers for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year deal with the option for a further year. [11] He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season, scoring a 92nd minute winner as Rovers defeated Northampton Town to claim a first opening day victory in thirteen years. [12] Following the match, he described it as the highlight of his career to date. [13]
On 15 January 2025, Bilongo joined League Two club Harrogate Town on loan for the remainder of the season. [14]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hanworth Villa | 2020–21 [5] | Combined Counties League Premier Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Kingstonian | 2021–22 [15] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 [a] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Middlesbrough | 2021–22 [1] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 [1] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Woking (loan) | 2022–23 [1] | National League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ebbsfleet United (loan) | 2023–24 [1] | National League | 12 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Bristol Rovers | 2024–25 [16] | League One | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 [b] | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Harrogate Town (loan) | 2024–25 [16] | League Two | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| Career total | 73 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 86 | 4 | ||