Gaël Bigirimana
Gaël Bigirimana (Kirundi pronunciation: [ɡaˈeːl βiɟiriˈmaːnaː]; born 22 October 1993) is a Burundian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for NIFL Premiership club Dungannon Swifts and the Burundi national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gaël Bigirimana | ||
| Date of birth | 22 October 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Bujumbura, Burundi | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Dungannon Swifts | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2011 | Coventry City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Coventry City | 26 | (0) |
| 2012–2016 | Newcastle United | 13 | (1) |
| 2015 | → Rangers (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Coventry City (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Coventry City | 30 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Motherwell | 46 | (2) |
| 2019 | Hibernian | 1 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Solihull Moors | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Glentoran | 43 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Young Africans | ? | (?) |
| 2023– | Dungannon Swifts | 26 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | England U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2015– | Burundi | 22 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 September 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:20, 1 May 2023 (UTC) | |||
He began his professional career at Coventry City in 2011 and a year later he signed for Newcastle United of the Premier League. After an aborted move to Rangers, Bigirimana returned to Coventry on loan in 2015 and permanently a year later. He scored for Coventry in their 2017 EFL Trophy Final victory, then signed for Motherwell of the Scottish Premiership. Bigirimana left Motherwell in January 2019 and then had a short spell with Hibernian before returning to England with Solihull Moors in October.
Born in Burundi, Bigirimana moved to the United Kingdom with his family as a refugee in 2004 and chose to represent England at under-20 level in 2013, later representing his country of birth in 2015. He played at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.