Jaze Kabia (born 7 August 2000) is an Irish professional football player who plays as a winger for National League South club Truro City.[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, from whom he had loan spells with Falkirk, Greenock Morton, Queen of the South, Cork City and Clyde.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 August 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Truro City | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| 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) |
| 2021–2023 | Livingston | 10 | (1) |
| 2022 | → Falkirk (loan) | 12 | (4) |
| 2022–2023 | → Greenock Morton (loan) | 18 | (3) |
| 2023 | → Queen of the South (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2023 | Cork City | 9 | (0) |
| 2024 | Clyde | 12 | (0) |
| 2024– | Truro City | 20 | (10) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:48, 4 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
Early career
editKabia 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
editCobh Ramblers
editKabia 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
editOn 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
editOn 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]
Falkirk (loan)
editOn 21 January 2022, Kabia joined Scottish League One club Falkirk on loan until the end of the season.[29] He made his debut the following day, coming off the bench to score two second-half goals as Falkirk beat East Fife 2-0.[30]
Greenock Morton (loan)
editOn 7 July 2022, Kabia joined Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton on a season-long loan.[31] He would be recalled by his parent club in January 2023.[32]
Queen of the South (loan)
editOn 27 January 2023, Kabia joined Scottish League One club Queen of the South on loan until the end of the season.[33]
Cork City
editOn 25 July 2023, Kabia signed for his hometown club Cork City, returning to the League of Ireland Premier Division with the first Irish club his father Jason played for.[34] He made 13 appearances in all competitions by the end of the season, as the club were relegated to the League of Ireland First Division.[35]
Clyde
editOn 30 January 2024, it was announced that Kabia had signed for Scottish League Two side Clyde.[36]
Truro City
editIn August 2024, Kabia joined National League South club Truro City following a successful trial period.[37] On 26 August 2024, Kabia scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Worthing.[38]
Personal life
editJaze Kabia is the son of Jason Kabia, a former professional footballer who 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 Celtic striker Adam Idah since childhood, with the pair knowing each other since the age of 7 and playing on various teams together.[3][39]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played on 30 November 2024[8]
| Club | Division | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Cobh Ramblers | 2018 | LOI First Division | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 18 | 8 | — | 2 | 1 | 2[a] | 0 | 22 | 9 | |||
| Total | 40 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 11 | ||
| Shelbourne | 2019 | LOI First Division | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 5 | ||
| 2020 | LOI Premier Division | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Total | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 19 | 6 | |||
| Livingston | 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | |
| 2021–22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Falkirk (loan) | 2021–22 | Scottish League One | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | 12 | 4 | |||
| Greenock Morton (loan) | 2022–23 | Scottish Championship | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | 25 | 4 |
| Queen of the South (loan) | 2022–23 | Scottish League One | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | |||
| Cork City | 2023 | LOI Premier Division | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Clyde | 2023–24 | Scottish League Two | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Truro City | 2024–25 | National League South | 20 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 21 | 10 | |
| Career total | 140 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 186 | 37 | ||
- ^ Appearances in the Munster Senior Cup
- ^ Appearances in the League of Ireland Promotion/relegation play-off
- ^ Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
- ^ 1 appearance in the Munster Senior Cup & 1 appearance in the 2023 League of Ireland Premier Division Play-off
- ^ Appearances in the FA Trophy
Honours
editShelbourne
editReferences
edit- ^ Jaze Kabia at Soccerway
- ^ a b c "From Leeside to Shelbourne, Jaze Kabia is a Cork soccer player to watch". echo live. 22 January 2020.
- ^ a b Taylor, Kevin (21 February 2020). "Shelbourne's Kabia grateful for for[sic] family backing". DublinLive.
- ^ "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Jaze Kabia". www.extratime.com.
- ^ "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2018 League of Ireland First Division - Cabinteely -v- Cobh Ramblers". www.extratime.com.
- ^ "Athlone Town vs. Cobh Ramblers - 13 April 2018 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2018 League Cup Final - Derry City -v- Cobh Ramblers". www.extratime.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Republic of Ireland - J. Kabia - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Striker Jaze Kabia signs for Shelbourne FC". 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland First Division - Athlone Town -v- Shelbourne". www.extratime.com.
- ^ "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 FAI Cup First Round - Bohemians -v- Shelbourne". www.extratime.com.
- ^ "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland First Division - Drogheda United -v- Shelbourne". www.extratime.com.
- ^ "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland First Division - Shelbourne -v- Limerick". www.extratime.com.
- ^ Scully, Michael (28 February 2020). "Perfect Kabia header snatches three points for Shels". DublinLive.
- ^ Graham, Brendan (28 February 2020). "Kabia goal hands Shelbourne derby win over 10-man St Pat's". The42.
- ^ Buttner, Paul (28 February 2020). "Jaze Kabia's first goal enough for Shelbourne". Irish Examiner.
- ^ O'Donnell, Jake (28 February 2020). "WATCH: Kabia fires Shelbourne to victory over St Pat's" – via www.rte.ie.
- ^ "Cork's Jaze Kabia signs for Scottish Premier League side Livingston". echo live. 9 January 2021.
- ^ Farrell, Sinead (8 January 2021). "Shelbourne forward joins Livingston while 22-year-old UCD striker links up with Reds". The42.
- ^ O'Callaghan, Gavin (9 January 2021). "Cork footballer signs for Scottish Premiership side Livingston". Cork Beo.
- ^ "Livingston add Irish forward Kabia". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Cork winger Jaze Kabia makes debut as Livingston draw with 10-man Celtic". The42. Press Association. 20 January 2021.
- ^ Newport, Andy (20 January 2021). "Cork youngster makes Livingston debut as Neil Lennon and Celtic drop points again". Irish Examiner.
- ^ Dollery, Paul (21 January 2021). "Cork youngster 'enjoyed every minute' of his eventful debut against Celtic". The42.
- ^ Team, Balls. "Celtic Draw As Scott Brown Sent-Off For Hitting Corkman With Flailing Arm". Balls.ie.
- ^ Carson, Callum (21 January 2021). "Livingston boss David Martindale says Jaze Kabia has 'massive potential'". Daily Record.
- ^ "Livingston 2-0 Kilmarnock: Jaze Kabia and Scott Pittman strike late for high-flying Livi". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Conor Hourihane grabs key goal for Swansea as Jaze Kabia hits the net in Scotland". echo live. 27 January 2021.
- ^ "JAZE KABIA JOINS ON LOAN". Falkirk Football Club. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ "East Fife 0-2 Falkirk, Scottish League One, 22/01/2022". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Jaze Kabia joins Morton on season long-loan". 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Jaze Kabia Returns to Livingston". Greenock Morton FC. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "QosFC: Welcome - Jaze Kabia". www.qosfc.com. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "Jaze Kabia signs for City". Cork City FC Shop.
- ^ "Cork relegated as Waterford bounce back to top flight following dramatic play-off". Independent.ie. 10 November 2023.
- ^ Hart, Sean (30 January 2024). "NEW SIGNING: Jaze Kabia". Clyde F.C.
- ^ "Truro City Sign Jaze Kabia". trurocity.co.uk. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "Kabia hits hat-trick in brilliant Truro performance | holsworthy-today.co.uk".
- ^ Sneyd, David (January 2020). "Rejected, demoralised and fueled by grief... the six young Irish footballers driven to succeed in 2020". The42.