Joseph Ceesay

Joseph Ceesay

Personal information
Full name	Lars Joseph Ceesay
Date of birth	(1998-06-03) 3 June 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Stockholm, Sweden
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Right-back, winger
Team information
Current team	Empoli
Number	15
Youth career
	Hässelby SK
2008–2013	IF Brommapojkarna
2013–2016	Djurgården
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	Djurgården	0	(0)
2017	→ Vasalunds IF (loan)	3	(1)
2017	→ IK Frej (loan)	11	(1)
2018	→ IK Frej (loan)	9	(0)
2018	→ IK Brage (loan)	10	(2)
2019	→ Dalkurd (loan)	26	(6)
2020–2021	Helsingborgs IF	19	(0)
2021–2022	Lechia Gdańsk	33	(1)
2022–2025	Malmö FF	29	(0)
2024	→ IFK Norrköping (loan)	7	(0)
2024–2025	→ Cesena (loan)	28	(0)
2025–	Empoli	0	(0)
International career‡
2016–2017	Sweden U19	3	(0)
2024–	Gambia	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 4 September 2024

Lars Joseph Ceesay (born 3 June 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian Serie B club Empoli. ^[1] Born in Sweden, he represents Gambia at international level.

Club career

Ceesay began to play football in Hässelby SK. ^[2] In 2008 he moved to IF Brommapojkarna, well known for their youth academy. In the summer of 2013, Ceesay moved to another club in the Stockholm region, Djurgården. In November 2016 he signed his first A-team deal with Djurgården; a 3.5-years contract. During spring 2017, he was loaned out to Vasalunds IF and scored a goal in May 2017 against Enskede IK.

In July 2017, Ceesay was loaned out to IK Frej for the rest of the 2017 season. In December, the loan was extended until the end of 2018. ^[3] He was called back to Djurgården in July 2018, ^[4] only to be sent on loan to IK Brage a month later. ^[5] In January 2019 he was again loaned, this time to Dalkurd, for the 2019 season. ^[6]

On 29 November 2019, he signed with Helsingborgs IF on a two-year deal. ^[7]

On 11 July 2022, Ceesay signed with Malmö FF.

On 23 March 2024, it was decided that Ceesay would join IFK Norrköping on loan until the summer transfer window. He returned to Malmö FF after declining a loan extension, despite interest from both clubs for him to remain. ^[8]

On 24 July 2024, Serie B newcomers Cesena announced that Ceesay had joined on loan with an option to buy. ^[9]

On 16 July 2025, Ceesay joined recently Serie B demoted club Empoli permanently. ^[10]

International career

Born in Sweden, Ceesay is of Gambian descent. ^[11] On 5 October 2020, he was called up to the Sweden U21 national team training camp in Olympia, Helsingborg. ^[12] He did not appear in scheduled UEFA Euro U-21 qualifying games against Luxembourg ^[13] and Armenia. ^[14]

Ceesay made his debut for the Gambia national team on 4 September 2024 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Comoros at the Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium, Morocco. He played the full game as it ended in a 1–1 draw. ^[15]

Personal life

His younger brother Jesper Ceesay plays for IFK Norrköping. ^[16]

Honours

Malmö FF

• Allsvenskan: 2023

References

1. Joseph Ceesay at Soccerway . Retrieved 14 April 2024.
2. "Brages Joseph Ceesay inför lördagens match". IK Brage (in Swedish). 15 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
3. "Officiellt: Djurgården lånar ut Joseph Ceesay till Frej". Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 October 2020.
4. "Officiellt: Djurgårdens IF kallar tillbaka Joseph Ceesay". Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 October 2020.
5. "Officiellt: IK Brage lånar Joseph Ceesay". Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 October 2020.
6. "Välkommen till Dalkurd, Joseph Ceesay - Dalkurd FF". 29 January 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
7. "Joseph Ceesay klar för HIF". HIF. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
8. "Officiellt: Joseph Ceesay lämnar IFK Norrköping". Fotbollskanalen.se. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
9. "Joseph Ceesay Joins Cesena FC". IFK Norrköping (in Swedish). 26 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
10. "Joseph Ceesay è un nuovo calciatore azzurro" (in Italian). Empoli FC. 16 July 2025.
11. "Kan byta bort Sverige mot afrikanska succén". www.expressen.se. 10 March 2022.
12. "Ändringar i truppen – Tre U21-debutanter kallas in - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
13. LiveScore, SofaScore com. "Sweden U21 Luxembourg U21 live score, video stream and H2H results - SofaScore". www.sofascore.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
14. LiveScore, SofaScore com. "Sweden U21 Armenia U21 live score, video stream and H2H results - SofaScore". www.sofascore.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
15. "Comoros v Gambia game report". ESPN. 4 September 2024.
16. "Jesper Ceesay". ifknorrkoping.se (in Swedish). IFK Norrköping. Retrieved 18 July 2023.