Rocky Bushiri Kisonga (born 30 November 1999) is a Belgian 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 le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

side Hibernian. He has previously played for

K.V. Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders in Belgium. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and has the matricule No. 31. History In 1911, an ...

and

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, spending almost the entirety of his spell at Norwich on loan.

Career

Oostende

Bushiri joined the youth academy of

in 2012 after impressing in a provincial tournament representing

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) 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 ...

. 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 due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

loss to KV Mechelen 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 The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

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, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

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

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen 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 contex ...

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, Liège (province), Provi ...

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

Hibernian

On 10 January 2022, Bushiri joined

side Hibernian 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 Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...

, whilst he was supposed to be suspended for receiving two cautions in earlier ties, Hibs were thrown out of the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay 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 existen ...

Personal life

Bushiri was born in Belgium and is of Congolese descent.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
UEFA Europa League Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushiri, Rocky 1999 births Living people Belgian footballers Belgium under-21 international footballers Belgium 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 Association football defenders Belgian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Black Belgian sportspeople Hibernian F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Scotland Scottish Professional Football League players People from Duffel Footballers from Antwerp Province