PRONUNCIATION: ka-ree-fa YA-O
POSITION: Defender
BIRTHDATE: Sept. 28, 2000
HEIGHT: 6-2
WEIGHT: 187
HOMETOWN: Montréal, Canada
YOUTH CLUBS: Fabrose, Chomedey, Étoile De L’est
PREVIOUS TEAM: Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS)
PROFILE
Following stops in Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League, Yao signed with Rhode Island FC on January 23, 2024. Through his first two seasons with RIFC in 2025, he proved himself as one of the club’s most reliable defenders, ranking second in all-time appearances (71) and minutes played (6,037) across all competitions. He also ranked first all-time with 52 blocks and 327 clearances, and second with 63 career interceptions for the Ocean State club.
2025: Yao started in 30 of his 33 appearances across all competitions in 2025, logging a team third-best 2,690 minutes at the heart of the backline. He led the team with 174 clearances and 23 blocks while ranking second with 1,194 passes.
2024: In his first season in the USL Championship, the physical defender led RIFC with 3,247 minutes, making a career-best 36 starts in 37 appearances and tallying one goal and one assist.
Before RIFC: RIFC marked Yao’s first American club after he spent his first five seasons as a professional in Canada. Yao signed a MLS Homegrown Player contract with Montréal Impact (now CF Montréal) on June 5, 2019, after featuring for the club’s academy at the Under-17 and Under-19 levels. Born in Montréal to an Ivorian father and a Senegalese mother, Yao made his professional debut with Montréal on September 20, 2020. For the 2021 season, Yao was loaned out to Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC, where he would go on to make 56 appearances, adding two goals and two assists over two seasons. On November 17, 2022, Yao was selected by Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Stage 1 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. Yao’s 2023 stats for the Whitecaps first and reserve teams included 824 minutes across 12 starts in 30 appearances. At the international level, Yao received multiple call-ups to the Canadian Under-15 and Under-17 squads.
