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 152 (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 15:32, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23.19, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

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.

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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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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