ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – The Tampa Bay Rowdies announced today that the club has acquired winger Pacifique Niyongabire from Canadian Premier League side Valour FC for the upcoming USL Championship season. Per club policy, the terms of the transfer were undisclosed.
Niyongabire is a newcomer to the USL Championship, having spent the majority of his professional career in Australia before joining Valour for the 2023 season. Last year, the 23-year-old recorded one goal and three assists in 26 appearances for Valour.
Born in Burundi, Niyongabire emigrated to Australia with his family at a young age. Two months before his 18th birthday in 2018, the creative winger made his professional debut for Adelaide United after developing in the A-League side’s youth system. Following several seasons with Adelaide United, he moved to Perth Glory FC for a two-season stint.
Niyongabire earned his first cap for the Burundi men’s national team in a friendly against Ivory Coast in November of 2022 and has made five more international appearances since then. He tallied his first goal for Burundi in March of last year, notching the lone goal for his country in a match versus Indonesia.
The Rowdies have 16 players confirmed for the 2024 season so far. Additional roster announcements will be made in the coming weeks, with the official start of preseason camp set for January 29. This year, the Rowdies kick off their regular season campaign at Al Lang Stadium on March 16 versus San Antonio FC. Single match tickets for the season will go on sale at a later date. Fans can lock in their seats for every home match this year and enjoy exclusive benefits by securing a season ticket membership at rowdiessoccer.com./seasontickets/.
Rowdies 2024 Roster as of January 11
Goalkeepers: Phil Breno
Defenders: Conner Antley, Jordan Doherty, Freddy Kleemann, Aaron Guillen, Forrest Lasso
Midfielders: Blake Bodily, Danny Crisostomo, Charlie Dennis, Leo Fernandes, Lewis Hilton, Zach Herivaux, Pacifique Niyongabire, Joshua Perez
Forwards: Manuel Arteaga, Cal Jennings
