Rocky Bushiri

In this Congolese name, the surname is Bushiriand the post-surname is Kisonga.

Rocky Bushiri

Personal information
Full name	Rocky Bushiri Kisonga [1]
Date of birth	(1999-11-30) 30 November 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Duffel, Belgium
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Hibernian
Number	33
Youth career
2014–2017	K.V. Oostende
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	K.V. Oostende	2	(0)
2018–2019	→ Eupen (loan)	31	(0)
2019–2022	Norwich City	0	(0)
2019	→ Blackpool (loan)	4	(0)
2020	→ Sint-Truiden (loan)	7	(0)
2020–2021	→ Mechelen (loan)	6	(0)
2021	→ Eupen (loan)	1	(0)
2022	→ Hibernian (loan)	14	(0)
2022–	Hibernian	41	(2)
International career‡
2017	Belgium U19	2	(0)
2018–2019	Belgium U21	7	(0)
2023–	DR Congo	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 05:51, 16 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:07, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

Rocky Bushiri Kisonga (born 30 November 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership side Hibernian and the DR Congo national team. He has previously played for K.V. Oostende and Norwich City, spending almost the entirety of his spell at Norwich on loan at other clubs.

Bushiri was born in Belgium and played for their under-19 and under-21 teams. He switched his international allegiance to DR Congo in March 2023, and made his full international debut for them later that year.

Club career

Oostende

Bushiri joined the youth academy of K.V. Oostende in 2012 after impressing in a provincial tournament representing Walloon Brabant. ^[2] He signed his first professional contract with Oostende in June 2017, for two years. ^[3] He made his professional debut in a 1-0 Belgian First Division A loss to KV Mechelen on 9 December 2017, becoming the youngest-ever debutant for Oostende. ^[4]

Norwich City

On 3 July 2019, it was announced that Bushiri would join Norwich City on a four-year deal, initially linking up with the U23 squad. ^[5] On 1 August 2019, Bushiri joined League One club Blackpool on a season-long loan deal. ^[6] Bushiri scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s in an EFL Trophy tie on 5 November 2019. ^[7]

On 30 June 2020, Bushiri went out on loan again, this time joining Mechelen on a season-long deal. ^[8]

On 26 January 2021, Bushiri moved to Belgium side KAS Eupen, on a loan deal until the end of the season. ^[9]

Hibernian

On 10 January 2022, Bushiri joined Scottish Premiership side Hibernian on loan for the remainder of the season, with an option to buy in the summer. ^[10] His number of appearances during the loan triggered that option, and he signed a three-year contract with Hibs in June 2022. ^[11]

After he played against Morton, whilst he was supposed to be suspended for receiving two cautions in earlier ties, Morton were awarded a default 3-0 victory which led to Hibernian being knocked out of the Scottish League Cup. ^[12] He played regularly during the first half of the 2022–23 season, but was then unavailable for more than three months due to an ankle injury. ^[13]

Bushiri scored his first goal for the club on 26 November 2024, scoring a 97th-minute equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Aberdeen. ^[14]

International career

Bushiri was born in Belgium and is of Congolese descent; ^[15] his grandfather, Albert Kisonga, was an ambassador to Belgium. ^[13] Bushiri represented Belgium in youth internationals up to and including the under-21 level, but changed his international allegiance in March 2023 so that he could play for DR Congo. ^[16] Bushiri was first selected by DR Congo in June 2023, for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches. ^[17] He made his full international debut in September 2023, playing in a friendly against South Africa. ^[18]

Career statistics

As of match played on 15 May 2024 ^[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup [a]		League Cup [b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
KV Oostende	2017–18 [20]	Belgian First Division A	2	0	0	0	—		6 [c]	0	8	0
Eupen (loan)	2018–19 [20]	Belgian First Division A	23	0	2	1	—		8 [c]	0	33	1
Norwich City	2019–20 [21]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [22]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2021–22 [23]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Blackpool (loan)	2019–20 [21]	League One	4	0	0	0	1	0	2 [d]	1	7	1
Sint-Truiden (loan)	2019–20 [20]	Belgian First Division A	7	0	0	0	—		0	0	7	0
Mechelen (loan)	2020–21 [20]	Belgian First Division A	5	0	0	0	—		0	0	5	0
Eupen (loan)	2020–21 [20]	Belgian First Division A	1	0	2	1	—		0	0	3	1
Hibernian (loan)	2021–22 [23]	Scottish Premiership	14	0	1	0	—		—		15	0
Hibernian	2022–23 [24]	Scottish Premiership	15	0	1	0	4	0	—		20	0
	2023–24 [25]	Scottish Premiership	26	2	1	0	2	0	5 [e]	0	34	0
	Total		41	0	2	0	6	0	5	0	54	0
Career total			97	0	7	2	7	0	21	1	132	3

1. Includes Belgian Cup, Scottish Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup
3. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League play-offs
4. Appearances in the EFL Trophy
5. Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Blackpool" (PDF). English Football League. p. 6. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
2. "Debutant Bushiri (18) werkt ook op KVO-secretariaat".
3. (belga) (3 June 2017). "Herhaalt KV Oostende succesverhaal Dimata? Kustboys halen weer spits bij Standard".
4. "Jupiler Pro League - speeldag 18: KV Oostende - KV Mechelen 0 - 1". www.kvo.be.
5. "Norwich City set to sign Belgium U21 international Rocky Bushiri". www.canaries.co.uk.
6. "Rocky Bushiri: Blackpool sign Norwich City defender on season-long loan deal". BBC Sport. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
7. "Blackpool 1-0 Wolves' U21s: Rocky Bushiri's stoppage-time winner seals EFL Trophy qualification". blackpoolgazette.co.uk. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
8. "Rocky Bushiri moves to KV Mechelen on season-long loan". Norwich City F.C. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
9. "Rocky Bushiri moves to KAS Eupen on loan". www.canaries.co.uk. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
10. "Rocky Bushiri Joins Hibs From Norwich City!". Hibernian FC. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
11. "Hibernian: Rocky Bushiri signs permanent deal & Momodou Bojang joins on loan". BBC Sport. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
12. "Hibernian out of Scottish League Cup after fielding suspended Rocky Bushiri against Morton". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
13. McPartlin, Patrick (29 April 2023). "Rocky Bushiri big interview: Derby injury, Hibs comeback, and Congo DR decision". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
14. "Three stoppage-time goals as Hibs and Aberdeen draw 3-3". BBC Sport. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
15. "Rocky Bushiri". worldfootball.net.
16. McPartlin, Patrick (9 March 2023). "Hibs defender Rocky Bushiri makes national team decision following Belgium Under-21 caps". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
17. "Bushiri earns Congo call up". BBC Sport. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
18. "Bushiri's Congo DR debut ends in defeat". BBC Sport. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
19. "Belgium - R. Bushiri - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
20. Rocky Bushiri at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
21. "Games played by Rocky Bushiri in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
22. "Games played by Rocky Bushiri in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
23. "Games played by Rocky Bushiri in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
24. "Games played by Rocky Bushiri in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
25. "Games played by Rocky Bushiri in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2023.

External links

• Rocky Bushiri at Soccerway
• UEFA Europa League Profile
• Rocky Bushiri at the Royal Belgian Football Association