Rocky Bushiri Kisonga (born 30 November 1999) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for side

Hibernian Hibernian may refer to: * Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence ** Irish (disambiguation) Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to: Sports clubs * Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875 * Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...

and the DR Congo national team. He has previously played for

K.V. Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, was a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Ostend, West Flanders. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and had Football in Belgium#Matr ...

and

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, 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 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

in March 2023, and made his full international debut for them later that year.

Club career

Oostende

Bushiri joined the youth academy of

in 2012 after impressing in a provincial tournament representing

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

. He signed his first professional contract with Oostende in June 2017, for two years. He made his professional debut in a 1-0

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

loss to

KV Mechelen Yellow Red Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen (), often called KV Mechelen (, KVM) or simply by their former French name Malinois /ˌmalɪˈnwɑː/, is a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Mechelen in the Antwerp (pr ...

on 9 December 2017, becoming the youngest-ever debutant for Oostende.

Norwich City

On 3 July 2019, it was announced that Bushiri would join

on a four-year deal, initially linking up with the U23 squad. On 1 August 2019, Bushiri joined

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on a season-long loan deal. Bushiri scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s in an

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

tie on 5 November 2019. On 30 June 2020, Bushiri went out on loan again, this time joining

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

on a season-long deal. On 26 January 2021, Bushiri moved to Belgium side

KAS Eupen K.A.S. Eupen (short for Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen, English: ''Royal General Sports Association Eupen'', simply referred to as Eupen) is a Belgian professional association football club located in Eupen, Province of Liège, wh ...

, on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Hibernian

On 10 January 2022, Bushiri joined

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

side

on loan for the remainder of the season, with an option to buy in the summer. His number of appearances during the loan triggered that option, and he signed a three-year contract with Hibs in June 2022. 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 The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

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

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

International career

Bushiri was born in Belgium and is of Congolese descent; his grandfather, Albert Kisonga, was an ambassador to Belgium. 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

. Bushiri was first selected by DR Congo in June 2023, for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches. He made his full international debut in September 2023, playing in a friendly against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Career statistics

References

External links

*
UEFA Europa League Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushiri, Rocky 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Duffel Footballers from Antwerp Province Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo men's international footballers Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's under-21 international footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Belgian sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Norwich City F.C. players K.V. Oostende players K.A.S. Eupen players Blackpool F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Men's association football defenders Belgian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Black Belgian sportspeople 21st-century Belgian sportsmen Hibernian F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Scottish Professional Football League players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players English Football League players K.V. Mechelen players Sint-Truidense V.V. players 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo sportsmen