Jojea Kwizera (born 1 January 1999) is a Rwandan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for USL Championship club Rhode Island FC. Born in the DR Congo to a Rwandan father and a Congolese mother, he represents Rwanda internationally.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 January 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Bukavu, DR Congo | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rhode Island FC | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Utah State University Eastern | 34 | (7) |
| 2019–2021 | Utah Valley Wolverines | 22 | (6) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Ogden City | 7 | (5) |
| 2022–2023 | CF Montréal | 12 | (0) |
| 2024– | Rhode Island FC | 27 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024– | Rwanda | 2 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2024 | |||
[2] Kwizera was a first-round pick (15th overall) in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. He earned 13 starts in 2021 with Utah Valley University, collecting three goals and eight assists. In 2020, he played in seven games as a starter with one goal and two assists for the Wolverines.[3]
On 8 April 2022, Kwizera signed his first contract with CF Montréal during the 2022 season.[4] Kwizera made his professional debut with Montreal in a 4–1 win against Orlando City SC on 7 May 2022.[5]
Upon completion of the 2023 Season, CF Montréal would announce that they would not pick up Kwizera's contract for 2024, ending his time with the club.[6]
International career
editKwizera made his debut for the Rwanda national team on 6 June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Benin at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in the Ivory Coast. He substituted Gilbert Mugisha in the 72nd minute as Benin won the game 1–0.[7] He scored his first international goal 5 days later against Lesotho.[8]
Career statistics
edit- As of 11 October 2022[9]
| Club | League | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| CF Montréal | MLS | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
References
edit- ^ "Jojea Kwizera". CF Montréal. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ Nsengimana, Epaphrodite (23 April 2024). "Kwizera Jojea, ufite se ukomoka mu Rwanda, asanzwe akinira ikipe ya Rhode Island FC yo muri Leta Zunze Ubumwe za Amerika, yemeye gukinira ikipe y'igihugu Amavubi". Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Jojea Kwizera - 2021 - Men's Soccer". Utah Valley University Athletics.
- ^ "CF Montréal signs Jojea Kwizera". CFmontreal.com.
- ^ "Game Recap". mlssoccer.com. 7 May 2022.
- ^ >"CF Montréal exercises options on four players for the 2024 season". CF Montréal. 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Benin v Rwanda game report". ESPN. 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Lesotho v Rwanda game report". ESPN. 11 June 2024.
- ^ Jojea Kwizera at Soccerway