Ben Cabango

Benjamin George Cabango (born 30 May 2000) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Swansea City and the Wales national team.

Ben Cabango
Personal information
Full name Benjamin George Cabango[1]
Date of birth (2000-05-30) 30 May 2000
Place of birth Cardiff, Wales
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Swansea City
Number 5
Youth career
Newport County
Swansea City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Swansea City 140 (8)
2018–2019 → The New Saints (loan) 16 (0)
International career‡
2017 Wales U17 1 (0)
2018–2019 Wales U19 10 (1)
2019 Wales U21 5 (0)
2020– Wales 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23.19, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Cabango was born in Cardiff to an Angolan father and a Welsh mother. He has a younger brother named Theo who plays rugby union for Cardiff.[2] He attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, a Welsh language comprehensive school.[3][4]

Club career

Cabango began his career as a youth player with local amateur side Maindy Corries, where his father Paolo was a coach, before joining the youth academy at Newport County,[5] where he played from under-13 to under-15 levels. He moved to the academy at Swansea City where he captained the under-19 side to win the FAW Welsh Youth Cup in 2018 and helped the under-23 side reach the final of the Premier League Cup.[3][6]

In June 2018, Cabango signed for reigning Welsh Premier League champions The New Saints on a six-month loan deal.[3] He made his senior debut for the side in a 5–0 defeat to Macedonian side KF Shkëndija in the first leg of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[7] In the return leg, Cabango scored his first senior goal as The New Saints won 4–0 but were eliminated on aggregate.[8]

On 13 August 2019, he made his professional debut for Swansea in a 3–1 victory over Northampton Town in the first round of the League Cup.[9] He made his league debut as a substitute against Huddersfield Town on 26 November 2019.[10]

International career

Cabango made his senior Wales international debut as a second-half substitute during the team's UEFA Nations League League B match against Finland on 3 September 2020, which Wales won 1–0.[11] In May 2021 he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[12] In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[13]

Personal life

Ben Cabango is the elder brother of professional rugby union player Theo Cabango.[14]

Career statistics
As of match played 1 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Swansea City 2018–19[15] Championship 000000—00
2019–20[16] Championship 21100302[lower-alpha 1]0261
2020–21[17] Championship 30420003[lower-alpha 1]0354
2021–22[18] Championship 3710021—392
2022–23[19] Championship 4222010—452
Total 13084061501399
The New Saints (loan) 2018–19[20] Welsh Premier League 16000306[lower-alpha 2]1251
Career total 1468409111116410
  1. Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs
  2. Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Wales (WAL)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 32. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. Thomas, Simon (15 November 2019). "Introducing the Cabango brothers, the super-talented siblings excelling in Welsh rugby and at Swansea City". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. Bloor, Stewart (12 June 2018). "Saints Sign Swansea Starlet". The New Saints. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. "Annual Report of the Governing Body 2015–16" (PDF). Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. Masrani, Daniel (15 August 2015). "Maindy Boy Selected for Welsh Squad". Maindy Corries F.C. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. Edwards, Joe (12 June 2018). "The New Saints sign Swansea youngster". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. "KF Shkendija 5–0 The New Saints". BBC Sport. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  8. "The New Saints 4–0 KF Shkendija". BBC Sport. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  9. "Swansea City 3–1 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. "Huddersfield 1-1 Swansea". BBC. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  11. Cabango Wales debut
  12. "Uncapped Colwill in Wales Euro 2020 squad". BBC Sport.
  13. 2022 Wales World Cup squad
  14. "Theo Cabango: Brother of Swansea City's Ben bids to seize Cardiff Rugby chance". BBC Sport. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  15. "Games played by Ben Cabango in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  16. "Games played by Ben Cabango in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  17. "Games played by Ben Cabango in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  18. "Games played by Ben Cabango in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  19. "Games played by Ben Cabango in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  20. "B. Cabango: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
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