Rogers Mato
Ugandan footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rogers Mato Kassim (born 10 October 2003)[1] is a Ugandan professional footballer who plays for club Heart of Midlothian, on loan from Vardar. He represents the Uganda national team.[2]
|
Mato with Uganda in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rogers Mato Kassim | ||
| Date of birth | 10 October 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Uganda | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Heart of Midlothian (on loan from Vardar) | ||
| Number | 74 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lweza | |||
| –2018 | Maroons | ||
| 2018–2019 | Proline | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Proline | ||
| 2021–2023 | KCCA | ||
| 2023–2024 | Şanlıurfaspor | 5 | (0) |
| 2024 | AP Brera | 33 | (4) |
| 2025– | Vardar | 26 | (18) |
| 2026– | → Heart of Midlothian (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022– | Uganda | 41 | (8) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 February 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 December 2025 | |||
Club career
As a youth Mato played for Lweza and Maroons in the Ugandan junior leagues. In 2018 he joined the youth setup of Proline of the FUFA Big League. For the 2019–20 season, Mato was promoted to the senior squad, but suffered relegation with the team during the season that was abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He became an important player for the club the following season, leading them to the promotion playoffs before coming short with a loss to Gaddafi. In September 2021 it was announced that the player had signed a four-year contract with 13-time Uganda Premier League champions KCCA for an undisclosed fee.[3]
After a year with Şanlıurfaspor of the Turkish First League, Mato moved to AP Brera of North Macedonia's First Football League in February 2024. He made his competitive debut for the club on 18 February in a league fixture against Sileks.[4]
On 13 January 2026, he signed a pre-contract with Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, initially joining on loan for the remainder of the 2025–26 season before permanently joining on a three-year deal.[5]
International career
In September 2021 Mato was called up to the senior national team for its 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Rwanda.[6] Two months later he featured for the national side in a practice match against a representative team from the Northern Region. Mato opened the scoring as the national side went on to win 3–1.[7] In January 2022 he was called up again for five friendlies with national sides from Europe and Asia as the Cranes traveled to Turkey, Iraq, and Bahrain.[8] He went on to make his senior debut in the first match against Iceland on 12 January 2022. He started and played eighty minutes in the eventual 1–1 draw.[9]
Career statistics
- As of match played 30 December 2025[9]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uganda | 2022 | 9 | 1 |
| 2023 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 10 | 4 | |
| Total | 41 | 8 | |
- Scores and results list Uganda's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mato goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 2022 | St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende, Entebbe, Uganda |  Tanzania | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2022 African Nations Championship qualification |
| 2 | 28 March 2023 | National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Tanzania | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 21 November 2023 | Stade Municipal de Berkane, Berkane, Morocco |  Somalia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 6 September 2024 | Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa |  South Africa | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 9 June 2025 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco |  Gambia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 5 September 2025 | Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda |  Mozambique | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 3–0 | |||||
| 8 | 30 December 2025 | Fez Stadium, Fez, Morocco |  Nigeria | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |
