Kembo Kibato (born September 16, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for FC Tulsa in the USL Championship.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kembo Kibato | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-09-16) September 16, 2000 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | FC Tulsa | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–2017 | North Toronto Nitros | ||
| 2017–2019 | Toronto FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | North Toronto Nitros | 21 | (4) |
| 2018 | Toronto FC III | 8 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Helsingør | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Rio Grande Valley FC | 12 | (1) |
| 2021 | → FC Tulsa (loan) | 29 | (2) |
| 2022– | FC Tulsa | 28 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 19, 2022 | |||
Kibato played youth soccer with the North Toronto Nitros.[1] In 2016, he debuted with the senior team in League1 Ontario, making two substitute appearances.[2] The following season, he joined the senior squad full-time, scoring 4 goals in 19 appearances,[3] and was named a league third-team all-star.[4]
In 2017, he played with Team Ontario at the 2017 Canada Summer Games, helping them win the gold medal.[5][6]
In 2017, Kibato joined the Toronto FC Academy.[1]
In 2019, he attended training camp with Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League, but did not ultimately sign with the club.[1][7]
On July 18, 2019, Kibato signed with Danish 2nd Division side FC Helsingør.[8][9] Kibato left on January 14, 2020 without making an official first team appearance, having only played in friendlies.[1][10]
On March 7, 2020, Kibato joined USL Championship side Rio Grande Valley FC.[11] He made his debut for RGVFC on July 11, 2020, appearing as an 83rd-minute substitute during a 1–0 loss to El Paso Locomotive.[12] He scored his first professional goal on August 8 against Austin Bold FC.[13][14] In October, he was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week after recording two assists in a 4-2 victory against OKC Energy FC in the season finale.[15]
On April 9, 2021, Kibato moved on a season-long loan to USL Championship side FC Tulsa.[16] At the end of the season, he was named the team's Newcomer of the Year.[17] On December 29, Tulsa announced they had signed Kibato to a permanent deal ahead of the 2022 season.[18]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| North Toronto Nitros | 2016[2] | League1 Ontario | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2017[3] | League1 Ontario | 19 | 4 | — | — | — | 19 | 4 | ||||
| Toronto FC III | 2018[20] | League1 Ontario | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| FC Helsingør | 2019–20 | Danish 2nd Division | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Rio Grande Valley FC | 2020 | USL Championship | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| FC Tulsa (on loan) | 2021 | USL Championship | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||
| FC Tulsa | 2022 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| Total | 57!2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 98 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 7 | ||
FC Tulsa – current squad | |
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