Jaze Kabia

Jaze Kabia (born 7 August 2000) is an Irish professional football player who plays as a winger in the Scottish Premiership for Livingston.[1] He started his career with Cobh Ramblers where he spent a season and a half, before moving to Shelbourne where he earned his move to Livingston.

Jaze Kabia
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-08-07) 7 August 2000
Place of birth Cork, Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Winger/Striker
Club information
Current team
 Livingston
Number 37
Youth career
2005–2015 College Corinthians
2015–2017 Douglas Hall
2017 Cobh Ramblers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Cobh Ramblers 40 (12)
2019–2020 Shelbourne 16 (7)
2021– Livingston 2 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Early career

Kabia began playing with College Corinthians in Cork where he played from age 5 until age 15,[2] including two years alongside Adam Idah.[3] He left the club to join another local side, Douglas Hall at age 15.[2] In 2017, he made the move to one of his father Jason Kabia's old clubs, Cobh Ramblers, playing for their Under-17 side where he would play for a season.[4]

Club career

Cobh Ramblers

Kabia was called straight up to the Cobh Ramblers senior squad ahead of the 2018 League of Ireland First Division season, bypassing the club's Under-19 side.[2] He made his debut in senior football on 9 March 2018, in a 1–0 win away to Cabinteely.[5] On 13 April 2018, he scored his first goals in senior football, scoring a brace in a 4–1 win over Athlone Town at the Athlone Town Stadium.[6] Kabia made three appearances in Cobh Ramblers League Cup campaign as they made it all the way to the final but were beaten by Derry City with Kabia an unused substitute on the day.[7] He finished his first season in senior football with 26 appearances and 2 goals to his name across all competitions.[8]

His second season saw him reach a great run of form in which he reached a tally of 9 goals in 22 appearances in all competitions.[8] This form saw League of Ireland First Division leaders Shelbourne show an interest in him to help their promotion charge in the second half of the season.

Shelbourne

On 11 July 2019, it was announced that Kabia had signed for Dublin club Shelbourne.[9] 8 days later, he scored on his debut in a vital 2–1 win over Athlone Town as his side's title race continued.[10] He was sent off for the first time in his career in controversial fashion as he was shown a second yellow card for time wasting while exiting the pitch after being substituted with his side 2–0 up away to Bohemians in an FAI Cup tie. After the red card his side capitulated, losing 3–2.[11] Kabia and Shelbourne clinched Promotion as well as the 2019 League of Ireland First Division title after beating second placed Drogheda United on 13 September 2019.[12] He scored his first senior hat-trick in a 7–0 win over Limerick on the final night of the season, before the club were awarded the league trophy, the first of Kabia's career.[13] He scored an impressive 5 league goals in 5 games over his half season with Shels.[8]

Kabia started off his first season in the League of Ireland Premier Division well, scoring the winner in a 1–0 Dublin derby win over St Patrick's Athletic on 22 February 2020.[14][15][16][17] Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the league season was halved in games and Shelbourne struggled for form towards the end of the season, which saw the season ended in disappointment for the club and Kabia, as they were relegated back to the League of Ireland First Division with Kabia scoring 1 goal in his 13 appearances in all competitions.[8]

Livingston

On 8 January 2021, Kabia signed a two-and-a-half year contract with Scottish Premiership side Livingston.[18][19][20] Manager David Martindale stated on the day he signed that the club would look at possibly loaning him out for experience.[21] He made his debut on 20 January 2021, in a 2–2 draw with Celtic at the Tony Macaroni Arena.[22][23][24] He was heavily involved in the action on his debut as Celtic captain Scott Brown received a straight red card for striking Kabia in the face,[25] while he earned praise from his manager who stated that Kabia has 'massive potential'.[26] On 27 January 2021, he scored his first goal for the club, coming off the bench to open the scoring in the 89th minute of a 2–0 win over Kilmarnock.[27][28]

Personal life

Jaze Kabia is the son of Jason Kabia, a former professional footballer that played in England, Malta and Ireland, finishing his career with his son's first professional club, Cobh Ramblers. He is also best friends with Republic of Ireland and Norwich City striker Adam Idah since childhood, with the pair knowing each other since the age of 7 and playing on various teams together.[3] [29]

Career statistics
As of 28 January 2021[8]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Division Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cobh Ramblers 2018 League of Ireland First Division 2221030—262
2019 188—212[lower-alpha 1]0229
Cobh Ramblers Total 40101051204811
Shelbourne 2019 League of Ireland First Division 5510——65
2020 League of Ireland Premier Division 11110—1[lower-alpha 2]0131
Shelbourne Total 16620—10196
Livingston 2020–21 Scottish Premiership 210000—21
Career total 58173051306918
  1. Appearances in the Munster Senior Cup
  2. Appearances in the League of Ireland Promotion/Relegation Play-Off

Honours

Shelbourne

References
  1. Jaze Kabia at Soccerway
  2. "From Leeside to Shelbourne, Jaze Kabia is a Cork soccer player to watch". echo live. 22 January 2020.
  3. Taylor, Kevin (21 February 2020). "Shelbourne's Kabia grateful for for[sic] family backing". DublinLive.
  4. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Jaze Kabia". www.extratime.com.
  5. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2018 League of Ireland First Division - Cabinteely -v- Cobh Ramblers". www.extratime.com.
  6. "Athlone Town vs. Cobh Ramblers - 13 April 2018 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  7. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2018 League Cup Final - Derry City -v- Cobh Ramblers". www.extratime.com.
  8. "Republic of Ireland - J. Kabia - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  9. "Striker Jaze Kabia signs for Shelbourne FC". 11 July 2019.
  10. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland First Division - Athlone Town -v- Shelbourne". www.extratime.com.
  11. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 FAI Cup First Round - Bohemians -v- Shelbourne". www.extratime.com.
  12. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland First Division - Drogheda United -v- Shelbourne". www.extratime.com.
  13. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland First Division - Shelbourne -v- Limerick". www.extratime.com.
  14. Scully, Michael (28 February 2020). "Perfect Kabia header snatches three points for Shels". DublinLive.
  15. Graham, Brendan. "Kabia goal hands Shelbourne derby win over 10-man St Pat's". The42.
  16. Buttner, Paul (28 February 2020). "Jaze Kabia's first goal enough for Shelbourne". Irish Examiner.
  17. O'Donnell, Jake (28 February 2020). "WATCH: Kabia fires Shelbourne to victory over St Pat's" – via www.rte.ie. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. "Cork's Jaze Kabia signs for Scottish Premier League side Livingston". echo live. 9 January 2021.
  19. Farrell, Sinead. "Shelbourne forward joins Livingston while 22-year-old UCD striker links up with Reds". The42.
  20. O'Callaghan, Gavin (9 January 2021). "Cork footballer signs for Scottish Premiership side Livingston". Cork Beo.
  21. "Livingston add Irish forward Kabia" – via www.bbc.com.
  22. Association, Press. "Cork winger Jaze Kabia makes debut as Livingston draw with 10-man Celtic". The42.
  23. Newport, Andy (20 January 2021). "Cork youngster makes Livingston debut as Neil Lennon and Celtic drop points again". Irish Examiner.
  24. Dollery, Paul. "Cork youngster 'enjoyed every minute' of his eventful debut against Celtic". The42.
  25. Team, Balls. "Celtic Draw As Scott Brown Sent-Off For Hitting Corkman With Flailing Arm". Balls.ie.
  26. Carson, Callum (21 January 2021). "Livingston boss David Martindale says Jaze Kabia has 'massive potential'". Daily Record.
  27. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11781/12200502/livingston-2-0-kilmarnock-jaze-kabia-and-scott-pittman-strike-late-for-high-flying-livi
  28. https://www.echolive.ie/corksport/arid-40215665.html
  29. Sneyd, David. "Rejected, demoralised and fueled by grief... the six young Irish footballers driven to succeed in 2020". The42.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.