Oakland Roots announced they signed Ugandan international midfielder Bobosi Byaruhanga to a contract on Monday.
The midfielder marks one of the finishing touches to Roots’ roster as they approach the season opener in Orange County. He’s already training with the club, giving him a higher probability of appearing in the early weeks. Now the fourth midfielder on the roster, Oakland will likely finish up its 2025 transactions with promotions from Project 51O.
Bobosi comes to Oakland as another offseason addition with a winning pedigree. He was a starter on Austin FC II’s MLS Next Pro Cup championship in 2023 and helped Viper SC of the Uganda Premier League win titles in 2021 and 2022.
“Bobosi is a young player we are very excited to bring in to help solidify our midfield,” head coach Gavin Glinton said. “To have the international experience and multiple league championships under his belt at such a young age has set him an incredible foundation into becoming a key player in our squad this season.”
So what are Roots getting in Byaruhanga?
Byaruhanga, 23, could move into Roots’ starting midfield at some point, while data suggests he’ll slot in as a #8 type of player who plays between the attack and defense. Transfermarkt has him listed as a central midfielder, FotMob has defensive midfielder as his secondary position. He’s younger than Oakland’s four other midfielders with Danny Gomez being five months older.
His most recent highlight reel on YouTube shows someone who can do a little bit of everything. There are moments he acts as a goal-poacher in front of the net, a central attacker who positions himself well for chances, an efficient long passer, and a capable dribbler.
In 2024, Bobosi appeared in 1,933 minutes for Austin FC II, proving to be an attacking-minded player at the position. His three goals ranked in the top 15.5 percent of central midfielders with his 27 shot attempts finished in the top 19 percent. He also logged 29 shot attempts in 2023.
Despite finishing with no assists in 2024, his 59 accurate long balls were in the top 12 percent of CMs. He averaged 2.75 long pass completions per game, ranking in the top 30 percent last season. In 2023, Byaruhanga recorded three assists and 46 accurate long balls, which ranked in the top 19 percent. He was also in the top 22 percent for chances created in 2023 with 22.
Byaruhanga has also exhibited a player who is comfortable with the ball at his feet. He had a 60 percent success rate on dribbles in 2024 and 69.6 percent success the previous year. Both figures ranked in the top 30 and 24 percent of central midfielders respectively.
Here’s one impressive highlight of him with Vipers SC, where he dribbles past the keeper and sees another defender running toward him with his peripheral vision. Plus, check out the announcer’s call: BO-BO-SIIIIII!
Byaruhanga started his professional career with Vipers SC fresh out of the club’s academy, helping them win two league titles. He earned the 2021 Airtel FUFA Male Player of the Year award.
From there, he traveled to the Czech Republic on loan with MFK Vyškov in 2022 of the National Football League, the second division of Czech football.
Austin FC II signed him to a season-long loan in January of 2023, playing as the club’s starting midfielder in its MLS Next Pro Cup title. He signed to another loan with Austin FC II for 2024.
For his MLS Next Pro career, Bobosi appeared in 50 total matches for 3,782 total minutes, recording four goals and three assists.
He also has 27 appearances with the Uganda National Team with 17 starts, playing in 10 World Cup Qualifier matches and eight Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers. He also has six appearances on Uganda’s U-20 side in the Africa Cup.
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