.jpg) Sema in 2019 with Sweden | |||
| 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) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Pafos | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2012 | 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) |
| 2018–2025 | Watford | 159 | (11) |
| 2019–2020 | → Udinese (loan) | 32 | (2) |
| 2025– | Pafos | 28 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Sweden Olympic | 4 | (1) |
| 2017– | Sweden | 32 | (5) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:06, 15 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:38, 20 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Kenneth Nlata Sema (born 30 September 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder for Cypriot First Division club Pafos and the Sweden national team.
Club career
Early career
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]
Östersunds FK
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]
Watford
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 on 2 January 2019 in a 3–3 draw.[10]
He was integral in helping Watford get promoted back to the Premier League in the 2020–21 season, registering six goals and adding a further six assists.[11]
On 6 February 2024, Sema made his 150th appearance for Watford in their FA Cup fourth round replay defeat to Southampton.[12]
On 29 January 2025, Sema departed Watford having had his contract terminated by mutual consent.[13]
Loan to Udinese
On 22 August 2019, Udinese Calcio signed Sema on a season-long loan from Watford.[14] He made his Serie A debut for Udinese on 25 August 2019 in a 1–0 win against AC Milan.[15]
Pafos
On 31 January 2025, Sema signed a contract with Cypriot First Division club Pafos.[16] Sema was part of the Pafos side that won the club's first Cypriot league title during the 2024–25 season.[17]
On 5 November 2025, Sema provided the assist for Derrick Luckassen's goal in a 1–0 win over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League. It was the club's first ever win in the Champions League proper.[18]
International career
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.[19]
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.[20][21]
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.[22]
On 15 June 2025 he scored a hat-trick in an international friendly against Algeria which Sweden won 4–3.[23]
Playing style
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.
Personal life
Sema was born in Sweden to Congolese parents, and his brother Maic Sema is also a footballer.[24] 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.[25][26]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 15 February 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | 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[c] | 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 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 159 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 1 | — | 176 | 12 | |||
| Udinese (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie A | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| Pafos | 2024–25 | Cypriot First Division | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2025–26 | Cypriot First Division | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11[e] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Total | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 341 | 36 | 29 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 407 | 41 | ||
- ^ Includes Svenska Cupen, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, Cypriot Cup
- ^ Includes EFL Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played on 18 November 2025
| 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 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 4 | |
| Total | 32 | 5 | |
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sema goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 October 2024 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Slovakia |
2–0 | 2–2 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League |
| 2. | 25 March 2025 | Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Northern Ireland |
3–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 3. | 10 June 2025 | Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Algeria |
1–0 | 4–3 | Friendly |
| 4. | 2–0 | |||||
| 5. | 3–0 |
Honours
Pafos
References
- ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 216" [Official Press Release No. 216] (PDF). Lega Serie A. 10 March 2020. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Stråhle, Ulf (3 April 2013). "Nio IFK-spelare i Sylvias trupp".
- ^ "Sema om nobben: "Klart jag var sur"". www.expressen.se. 13 March 2018.
- ^ "Sema och Björlund klara".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Ken Sema bekräftar övergången till ÖFK: "Jag är klar"". 5 January 2016.
- ^ "Östersund vann Svenska Cupen". www.aftonbladet.se. 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Arsenal 1-2 Oestersunds FK - UEFA Europa League 2017/2018 Live". WhoScored.com.
- ^ Gray, Harry (4 July 2018). "Ostersund confirm Sema's Watford switch". Watford Observer.
- ^ "Official: Sema Signs On". Watford F.C. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "Bournemouth and Watford in six-goal thriller". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Ken Sema | Football Stats | Watford | Season 2020/2021 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Sema On 150 Milestone: "I'm Very Proud"". Watford F.C. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Official: Farewell King Ken". www.watfordfc.com. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "Watford winger Sema completes Udinese loan switch". Evening Standard. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Vinst mot Milan för Sema i Serie A-debuten". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 25 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Ken Sema: From Watford FC to Pafos FC!". www.pafosfc.com.cy. Pafos. 31 January 2025.
- ^ "Pafos FC: Who are Champions League debutants". BBC. 17 September 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ "Pafos 1-0 Villarreal: Hosts claim historic first Champions League win". BBC. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ "Sweden 6 – 0 Slovakia – Football". The Guardian.
- ^ "Sveriges trupp till fotbolls-VM 2018 – här är alla som får åka till Ryssland". aftonbladet.se. 15 May 2018.
- ^ "Märkliga Ica-bilderna: "Har blivit reaktioner"". expressen.se. 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Sema om EM-jakten: "Måste jobba hårt för det" – Corren". 18 November 2019.
- ^ "Sweden 4 – 3 Algeria – Football". BBC.
- ^ Sjöö, Patrick (5 February 2016). "ÖFK:s nyförvärv Ken Sema i stor intervju – hyllar föräldrarna: "De flyttade till Sverige för att ge sina barn ett bra liv"".
- ^ Kemble, Jamie (21 February 2023). "Leeds United's Luke Ayling sends 'love' to Watford star Ken Sema after inspirational interview clip emerges". Yorkshire Evening. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ Browning, Oliver (21 February 2023). "Watford star Ken Sema battles through stammer to give post-match interview". Independent. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ Ken Sema at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish) (archived)
- ^ Ken Sema at Soccerway
External links
- Ken Sema at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
- Ken Sema club team profile at SvFF (in Swedish) (archived)
- Ken Sema national team profile at SvFF (in Swedish) (archived)
Sweden squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
- 1993 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Norrköping
- Swedish men's footballers
- Sweden men's international footballers
- Sweden men's youth international footballers
- Swedish people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent
- Men's association football midfielders
- Ljungskile SK players
- Östersunds FK players
- Watford F.C. players
- Udinese Calcio players
- Pafos FC players
- Allsvenskan players
- Superettan players
- Premier League players
- Serie A players
- Cypriot First Division players
- Olympic footballers for Sweden
- Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- UEFA Euro 2020 players
- Swedish expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
- Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
- English Football League players
- 21st-century Swedish sportsmen
