Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Kenneth Nlata Sema [1] | ||
Date of birth | 30 September 1993 | ||
Place of birth | Norrköping, Sweden | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder Wing-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Watford | ||
Number | 12 | ||
Youth career | |||
–2013 | IFK Norrköping | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013 | IFK Norrköping | 0 | (0) |
2013 | → IF Sylvia (loan) | 22 | (4) |
2014–2015 | Ljungskile SK | 60 | (11) |
2016–2018 | Östersunds FK | 58 | (8) |
2018– | Watford | 148 | (11) |
2019–2020 | → Udinese (loan) | 32 | (2) |
International career‡ | |||
2016 | Sweden Olympic | 4 | (1) |
2017– | Sweden | 20 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 September 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:26, 9 September 2024 (UTC) |
Kenneth Nlata Sema (born 30 September 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder for EFL Championship club Watford and the Sweden national team.
Sema got promoted to the IFK Norrköping first team as a 19-year old in 2013. However, he spent the entire season on loan to IF Sylvia [2] and did not get his contract renewed after it expired at the end of the season. [3]
In 2014, he signed for second-tier team Ljungskile SK. [4]
In January 2016, Sema signed for Östersunds FK in the Allsvenskan, [5] where he would have his major breakthrough. Sema won the 2016–17 Svenska Cupen with Östersund, assisting three of their four goals in the final, [6] and later played a major role in their 2017–18 UEFA Europa League campaign. On 22 February 2018, Sema scored a goal in a 2–1 win against Arsenal in the round of 32. Despite this, Östersund were eliminated from the Europa League after losing 2–4 on aggregate. [7]
On 4 July 2018, Östersunds FK chairman Daniel Kindberg revealed that Sema was close to signing for Premier League club Watford on a five-year contract. [8] The next day, Watford confirmed the signing. [9] He scored his first goal against Bournemouth in January 2019 in a 3-3 draw. [10] He was integral in helping Watford get promoted back to the premier league in the 20/21 Season and scored six goals and got six assists. [11] On 6 February 2024 Sema made his 150th appearance for Watford in their FA Cup 4th Round Replay defeat to Southampton.
On 22 August 2019, Udinese Calcio signed Sema on a season-long loan from Watford. [12] He made his Serie A debut for Udinese on 25 August 2019 in a 1–0 win against A.C. Milan. [13]
In 2016, Sema was a part of the Sweden Olympic team that played in Brazil, and scored his first U23 goal in a match against South Korea Olympic. In January 2017, he debuted for the Sweden senior team in a friendly 6–0 win over Slovakia. [14]
Sema was an unused substitute in the two-legged playoff against Italy in November 2017, which Sweden won, and therefore qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Despite featuring in commercials with the rest of the Sweden squad before the World Cup, Sema was eventually left out of the World Cup squad. [15] [16]
Sema made his competitive international debut in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying game against the Faroe Islands national football team which Sweden won 3–0. [17]
Sema is known for his hard work, a trait that has made him very popular with Watford fans. He likes to dribble past opponents to get into good crossing positions. He is mainly a winger but has occasionally been used at left back or wing back, due to his ability to work hard and track back defensively. He is affectionately known as King Ken by Watford fans.
Sema was born in Sweden to Congolese parents, and his brother Maic Sema is also a footballer. [18] He speaks with a stammer, and after a video went viral of him doing a post match interview with Watford TV, he was praised as a role model for children and adults with speech impediments. [19] [20]
Club | Season | League | National cup [lower-alpha 1] | League cup [lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
IFK Norrköping | 2013 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
IF Sylvia (loan) | 2013 | Division 1 Södra | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 4 | ||
Ljungskile SK | 2014 | Superettan | 30 | 7 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 7 | ||
2015 | Superettan | 30 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 34 | 7 | |||
Total | 60 | 11 | 10 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 70 | 14 | |||
Östersunds FK | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | |
2017 | Allsvenskan | 24 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | 13 [lower-alpha 3] | 1 | 42 | 5 | ||
2018 | Allsvenskan | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
Total | 58 | 8 | 8 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | 79 | 9 | |||
Watford | 2018–19 | Premier League | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | |
2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | Championship | 41 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 43 | 6 | ||
2021–22 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | ||
2022–23 | Championship | 40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 4 | ||
2023–24 | Championship | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | ||
2024–25 | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
Total | 148 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 164 | 12 | |||
Udinese (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie A | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||
Career total | 302 | 36 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 348 | 41 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Sweden | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
2018 | 5 | 0 | |
2019 | 1 | 0 | |
2020 | 2 | 0 | |
2021 | 4 | 0 | |
2022 | 1 | 0 | |
2023 | 4 | 0 | |
2024 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 20 | 0 |
Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund or ÖFK, is a Swedish professional football club located in Östersund, Sweden, that plays in the Swedish second tier, Superettan. The club was formed in 1996 as a merger of several Östersund clubs. The club is affiliated with the Jämtland-Härjedalens Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Jämtkraft Arena. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are red and black, predominantly in stripes and with red shorts and socks.
Gabriel Somi is footballer who played most recently for AFC Eskilstuna and for the Syria national football team as a left back.
David Accam is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a winger. He has won 11 caps for the Ghana national team.
Darijan Bojanić is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai.
Dino Islamović is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Kalmar. Born in Sweden, he formerly represented Sweden internationally before switching to represent the Montenegro national team.
Isak Ssali Ssewankambo is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender in the Allsvenskan club IFK Norrköping.
Jesper Kewe Karlström is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Udinese and the Sweden national team.
Samuel Mensiro is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a defender.
Sotirios Papagiannopoulos is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Allsvenskan club AIK. He has won five caps for the Sweden national team.
Seyed Saman Ghoddoos is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or striker for the Iran national team. A versatile player, Ghoddos can also be deployed as a winger, wing-back or full-back.
The 2016 season is Östersund' 1st season in the top flight of Swedish football and 19th year in existence as a football club. They entered this season as a newly promoted side after finishing second in the 2015 Superettan, and will participate in the Svenska Cupen. The season covers the period from 1 January 2016 to 1 November 2016.
Trond Dennis Widgren is a Swedish footballer who plays as a left back for IK Sirius in Allsvenskan.
Brwa Hekmat Nouri is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Swedish Division 2 club Ariana. Born in Iraq, he represented the Iraq national team.
Aly Keita is a professional footballer who plays a goalkeeper for Östersunds FK. Born in Sweden, he plays for the Guinea national team.
Hosam Aiesh is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for FC Seoul and the Syria national team. Born in Sweden, Aiesh represented them at both youth and senior level before switching his allegiance to Syria in 2022.
Curtis Garry Edwards is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Notts County.
The 2017 Allsvenskan, part of the 2017 Swedish football season, is the 93rd season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. The season began on 1 April 2017 and ended on 5 November the same year. Fixtures for the 2017 season were announced on 9 December 2016. A total of 16 teams participated.
Daleho Mohsen Irandust is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Allsvenskan club IF Brommapojkarna. Born in Sweden to Kurdish parents from Iran, Irandust initially represented Sweden at the youth and senior levels, before switching allegiance to Syria in March 2024.
The 2018 season was Malmö FF's 107th in existence, their 83rd season in Allsvenskan and their 18th consecutive season in the league. They competed in Allsvenskan where they finished third, 2017–18 Svenska Cupen where they finished as runners-up, and the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League where they were knocked out in the third qualifying round. Malmö FF also participated in two competitions in which the club continued playing in for the 2019 season, the 2018–19 Svenska Cupen and the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. The season began with the group stage of Svenska Cupen on 18 February, league play started on 2 April and concluded on 11 November. The season concluded with the last UEFA Europa League group stage match on 13 December.
Eirik Haugan is a Norwegian footballer who plays for Molde.