Elvis Kamsoba (born 27 June 1996) is a Burundian professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Burundi national team.

Elvis Kamsoba
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-06-27) 27 June 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Nyanza Lac, Burundi
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
2011–2012 FFSA NTC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Playford City 26 (20)
2014–2015 Adelaide Raiders 48 (19)
2016 Croydon Kings 22 (3)
2017 Melbourne Knights 23 (6)
2018 Avondale 26 (8)
2019–2021 Melbourne Victory 61 (6)
2021–2022 Sydney FC 17 (3)
2022–2023 Sepahan 15 (0)
2023–2024 PSS Sleman 15 (0)
International career
2019– Burundi 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2023

Early life

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Elvis Kamsoba was born on 27 June 1996[2] in Burundi. He moved with his family to a Tanzanian refugee camp when he was four months old, and lived there for 11 years before migrating to Adelaide, South Australia, in 2008.[3]

His younger brother is footballer Pacifique Niyongabire.[4]

Club career

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In October 2016, Melbourne Knights announced the signing of Elvis Kamsoba for the 2017 NPL Victoria season.[5] Kamsoba scored six goals for Knights in 2017, as his side narrowly avoided relegation, defeating Dandenong City in the promotion-relegation playoff.[6]

Kamsoba came to Australia's attention after a brilliant 2018 FFA Cup campaign for Avondale FC. Avondale went on to make the quarter-final, the club's best finish before losing out to reigning champions Sydney FC. As a result of his impressive performances with Avondale, Kamsoba was awarded the inaugural Mike Cockerill Medal, awarded to the best NPL player in the FFA Cup.[3]

Melbourne Victory

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Following a successful trial period, Kamsoba signed for A-League club Melbourne Victory on an 18-month contract on 3 January 2019.[7] He made his professional debut for the club on 9 January 2019 in an A-League match against Adelaide United.[8]

Alongside Jake Brimmer and Rudy Gestede, Kamsoba finished as Melbourne Victory's joint top goalscorer for the 2020–21 A-League season, with 5 goals.[9]

Sydney FC

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At the end of his contract at Melbourne Victory, Kamsoba departed the club and joined Sydney FC on a two-year contract.[10][11]

Sepahan

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Following a successful season with the harbourside Sydney club, in which he contributed with 3 goals in 17 appearances Kamsoba departed the Sky Blues, with the club having accepted a transfer from Iranian club Sepahan, for an undisclosed six-figure amount.[12] Kamsoba was released at the end of the season, having made only 15 appearances for Sepahan, the majority of which were sporadic, and off the bench.[13]

PSS Sleman

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On 21 November 2023, he signed a contract with Indonesian club PSS Sleman to play in the second round of 2023–24 Liga 1.[14] He made his debut with the team on 26 November 2023, during a home match against Barito Putera.[15]

Other appearances

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Elvis Kamsoba has played in the African Nations Cup of South Australia.[16]

Career statistics

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As of 30 April 2024
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental[b] Other[c] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Melbourne Victory 2018–19 A-League 16 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 20 0
2019–20 25 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 29 1
2020–21 20 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 5
Total 61 6 1 0 7 1 2 0 68 6
Sydney FC 2021–22 A-League Men 17 3 3 2 4 0 0 0 24 5
Sepahan 2022–23 Persian Gulf Pro League 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
PSS Sleman 2023–24 Liga 1 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Career total 108 9 4 2 11 1 2 0 125 12

International career

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Elvis was eligible to represent both Burundi and Australia. On 24 March 2019 he confirmed that he had rejected a call-up to the Burundi national football team.[17] Two months later, he accepted a call-up for Burundi's provisional squad ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[18] He made his debut on 17 June 2019 in a friendly against Tunisia, as a starter.[19]

Honours

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Individual

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Notes

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  1. ^ Includes appearances in the FFA Cup.
  2. ^ Includes appearances in the AFC Champions League.
  3. ^ Includes appearances in the A-League finals.

References

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  1. ^ Migliaccio, Val. "Elvis Kamsoba, the 164cm pocket dynamo dreams of facing his brother Adelaide United's Pacifique Niyongabire". The Advertiser. News Corp. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Elvis Kamsoba". Melbourne Victory FC. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b Rugari, Vince (31 October 2018). "Elvis Kamsoba a fitting winner of inaugural Michael Cockerill Medal". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  4. ^ Migliaccio, Val (17 April 2020). "Adelaide United's Pacifique Niyongabire and Melbourne Victory's Elvis Kamsoba's mother is stranded in Burundi". The West Australian.
  5. ^ "Now Or Never As Elvis Enters Centre Stage". Melbourne Knights FC. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Elvis Kamsoba - Player Statistics". SportsTG. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  7. ^ Melbourne Victory signs Elvis Kamsoba, Melbourne Victory Official Website, 3 January 2019
  8. ^ "Brisbane Roar FC vs Melbourne City FC, FFA Cup, Round of 32, 7th Aug 2018". FFA Cup. 26 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Recap: 2020/21 Victory Medal". Melbourne Victory FC. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Elvis Kamsoba departs Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 22 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Sydney FC sign exciting attacking talent". Sydney FC. 22 July 2021.
  12. ^ Pisani, Sacha (23 July 2022). "Elvis has left the building! Sydney accept six-figure offer for Kamsoba". Keep Up.
  13. ^ "Sepahan Parts Ways with Elvis Kamsoba". Tansim News Agency. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Burundi international footballer @kamsobaa is set to join PSS Sleman". Instagram (in Indonesian). Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Dua Pemain Asing PSS Jalani Debut, Ini Komentar Risto Vidakovic". www.krjogja.com (in Indonesian). Kedaulatan Rakyat Jogja. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Adelaide's African Nations Cup: A talent scout's dream". The Roar. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  17. ^ Radbourne, Lucas (24 March 2019). "Kamsoba-rejects Burundi qualify for Cup of Nations". FTBL.
  18. ^ Greco, John (30 May 2019). "From the NPL to Africa Cup of Nations: Kamsoba earns international call-up". A-League. Football Federation Australia.
  19. ^ "Tunisia v Burundi game report". ESPN. 17 June 2019.
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