Rogers Mato

Rogers Mato
Mato with Uganda in 2025
Personal information
Full name Rogers Mato Kassim
Date of birth (2003-10-10) 10 October 2003 (age 23)
Place of birth Uganda
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Heart of Midlothian
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)
2025–2026 Vardar 26 (18)
2026 → Heart of Midlothian (loan) 3 (0)
2026– Heart of Midlothian 4 (0)
International career‡
2022– Uganda 42 (9)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 October 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 September 2026

Rogers Mato Kassim (born 10 October 2003) is a Ugandan professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian and the Uganda national team.

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.

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.

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.

International career

In September 2021 Mato was called up to the senior national team for its 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Rwanda. 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. 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. 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.

Career statistics

As of match played 24 September 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Uganda 202291
2023122
2024101
2025104
202611
Total429
Scores and results list Uganda's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mato goal.
List of international goals scored by Rogers Mato
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
13 September 2022St. Mary's Stadium, Entebbe, Uganda Tanzania3–03–02022 African Nations Championship qualification
228 March 2023National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tanzania1–01–02023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
321 November 2023Berkane Municipal Stadium, Berkane, Morocco Somalia1–01–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
46 September 2024Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa South Africa2–22–22025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
59 June 2025Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh, Morocco Gambia1–01–1Friendly
65 September 2025Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda Mozambique2–04–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
73–0
830 December 2025Fez Stadium, Fez, Morocco Nigeria1–31–32025 Africa Cup of Nations
924 September 2026Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Radès, Tunisia Tunisia1–11–12027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

  1. ↑ "KCCA FC profile". KCCA FC. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Rogers Mato at Soccerway
  3. ↑ "KCCA FC completes the signing of Proline FC forward Rogers Mato for an undisclosed fee". The Nile Post. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Damba, Allan. "Rogers Mato makes winning debut at his new European outfit". Pulse Sports. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "Rogers Mato agrees to join Hearts in summer". www.heartsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Sang, Kiplagat. "2022 World Cup Qualifiers: Sredojevic trims Uganda squad ahead of Rwanda duel". Goal. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Cranes put up impressive friendly performance ahead of clash WC clash with Kenya". the-cleansheet.com. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Abdusalam, Kigozi (3 January 2022). "Micho Summons 45-man squad for Friendlies in Europe, Asia". chimpreports.com. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  9. 1 2 "NFT profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 19 January 2022.