| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jordan John Obita[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-12-08)8 December 1993 (age 31) | ||
| Place of birth | Oxford, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Left back,winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hibernian | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2010 | Reading | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2020 | Reading | 163 | (5) |
| 2012 | →Barnet (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2012 | →Gillingham (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 2012 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2013 | →Oldham Athletic (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Oxford United | 12 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Wycombe Wanderers | 79 | (5) |
| 2023– | Hibernian | 76 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010 | England U18 | 1 | (1) |
| 2011 | England U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2014 | England U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2025– | Uganda | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 09:49, 15 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 09:49, 15 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
Jordan John Obita (born 8 December 1993) is a Ugandan professionalfootballer who plays asleft-back orwinger forScottish Premiership clubHibernian, and theUganda national football team.
He has previously played forReading,Barnet,Gillingham,Portsmouth,Oldham Athletic,Oxford United, andWycombe Wanderers. Born in England, Obita represented England in youth internationals up to theunder-20 level and made his full international debut forUganda Cranes in June 2025.
Born inOxford,[3] Obita had trials with hishometown club,[4] but chose instead to sign forReading, joining theirAcademy at the age of seven.[5] He played initially as a central midfielder but competition for places and his abundance of pace meant he was moved out to the wing.[6] He made his first team debut for Reading aged 16 in the first round of theLeague Cup againstTorquay United on 11 August 2010, coming on as a 113th-minute substitute forMichail Antonio.[7] He travelled with the first team squad for Reading's pre-season trip to Slovenia prior to the 2011–12 season and made his first senior start in a League Cup game againstCharlton Athletic in August that season.[8][9]
On 27 January 2012 he signed forLeague Two sideBarnet on loan, making his debut for the club the following day againstCrewe Alexandra.[10][11] After one month with Barnet he joinedGillingham on a similar arrangement and scored his first professional goal against his former loan side.[12][13] He scored twice in the next game againstCheltenham Town and made a further three appearances before returning to Reading in April after turning down the chance to extend his stay.[14][15] During his loan spell he was also nominated for 2011–12 Football League Championship Apprentice of the Year though he ultimately lost out toCoventry City'sGael Bigirimana.[16]
In August Obita signed forLeague One clubPortsmouth on a one-month loan,[17] adding that he "didn't have to think twice" about joining the club.[18] Later that evening he made his debut againstColchester United and scored a late equaliser with his first touch.[19] His loan was extended for a second month in September though he eventually returned to Reading a few days early following a death in his family.[20][21] He left on loan again in January 2013, signing a one-month agreement withOldham Athletic.[22] He scored his first goal for the club in their televisedFA Cup fifth round tie againstEverton the following month.[23] After expressing an interest in extending his stay with the club,[24] his loan was renewed for a second month after which he returned to Reading.[25][26] Despite the option of remaining at Oldham, Obita ended his spell early with a view to impressing incoming Reading managerNigel Adkins and breaking into the first team.[3]
He made his first Reading appearance for two years in their heavy 6–0 League Cup defeat toPeterborough United in August 2013 before making his league debut a month later atDerby County.[27][28][29] After securing his place in first team squad for the following games he expressed his desire to play in a central midfield role, a position he played in during his formative Academy years.[6] In November, he scored his first goal for the club with the winner in a 3–2 victory away atNottingham Forest and the following month signed a new contract until the summer of 2017.[30][31] In the second half of the season, the absence ofWayne Bridge through long-term injury,[32] and the inability ofStephen Kelly andShaun Cummings to cement their place in his stead,[33][34] saw Obita move to left-back for the game againstWatford. He helped the team keep a clean sheet in a 1–0 win and provided the assist forKaspars Gorkšs' early winner.[35] He retained his place for the next game, a 7–1 win againstBolton Wanderers, and from then on was a regular in the team, making 22 of his 36 appearances after his move to full-back.[36] He was praised by club captainJobi McAnuff who described his adaptation to the left-back role as "fantastic",[37] and was voted as the club'sPlayer of the Season for 2013–14 by the fans.[38] Obita signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2018, on 30 July 2015.[39] On 30 August 2017, Reading announced that Obita had signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2020.[40]
With his contract with Reading due to expire on 30 June 2020, and due to the effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic on the2019–20 season, Obita signed a short-term extension with Reading until the end of the season on 26 June 2020.[41] Following the completion of the 2019–20 season, Reading announced that Obita would leave the club at the end of July 2020.[42]
On 9 November, he signed forLeague One clubOxford United, his hometown club.[43]
On 29 January 2021, Obita joinedChampionship sideWycombe Wanderers on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[44] He left Wycombe during the 2023 close season after rejecting a new contract offer.[45]
On 22 June 2023,Hibernian announced the signing of Obita to a two-year contract, with the option for a third year.[45][46] On 19 March 2024 Hibernian announced that Obita had signed a new contract with the club until 30 June 2026.[47] He extended that contract by another year in July 2025.[48]
Obita was born in England and is of Ugandan descent.[49]
Obita represented England atunder-18 andunder-19 level.[50] In May 2014 he was called up by the Englandunder-20s andunder-21s for theToulon Tournament and a game againstWales.[51] He was an unused substitute for the game against Wales, but started the first game of the Toulon Tournament and scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win overQatar.[52]
In May 2025, Obita was called up to theUganda squad for the first time for their matches againstCameroon andGambia on 6 and 9 June.[53]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reading | 2010–11[54] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011–12[55] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13[56] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14[57] | Championship | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15[58] | Championship | 43 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 51 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16[59] | Championship | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17[60] | Championship | 37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 1 | 43 | 3 | ||
| 2017–18[61] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19[62] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20[63] | Championship | 21 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 3 | |||
| Total | 163 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 191 | 7 | |||
| Barnet (loan) | 2011–12[55] | League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Gillingham (loan) | 2011–12[55] | League Two | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | |
| Portsmouth (loan) | 2012–13[56] | League One | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| Oldham Athletic (loan) | 2012–13[56] | League One | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |
| Oxford United | 2020–21[64] | League One | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[e] | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 2020–21[64] | Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[65] | League One | 41 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 6[f] | 0 | 52 | 5 | ||
| 2022–23[66] | League One | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| Total | 79 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 95 | 5 | |||
| Hibernian | 2023–24[67] | Scottish Premiership | 34 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[g] | 1 | — | 45 | 2 | |
| 2024–25[68] | Scottish Premiership | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2025–26[69] | Scottish Premiership | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[h] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 76 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | 102 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 357 | 17 | 25 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 433 | 21 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uganda | 2025 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
