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
PROFILE
Following stops in Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League, Yao signed with Rhode Island FC on January 23, 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. 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.