Serge Atakayi

Personal information
Full name	Serge Atakayi
Date of birth	(1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Kinshasa, DR Congo
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	KTP
Number	45
Youth career
2013–2015	Jaro
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	Jaro	29	(3)
2015	→ JBK	10	(2)
2016–2019	Rangers	1	(0)
2019	→ SJK (loan)	10	(1)
2020–2022	SJK	28	(1)
2021	→ TPS (loan)	13	(3)
2022–2023	St Patrick's Athletic	23	(4)
2023	→ Waterford (loan)	12	(0)
2024–	KTP	1	(0)
International career‡
2014	Finland U15	2	(0)
2015	Finland U17
2016	Finland U18	5	(2)
2016–2018	Finland U19	11	(0)
2019	DR Congo U23	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:22, 4 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:02, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Serge Atakayi (born 30 January 1999) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ykkösliiga club KTP. Originally from the DR Congo, he represented Finland up to the under-19 level before representing DR Congo at under-23 level.

Atakayi, originally from Democratic Republic of the Congo, applied for asylum in Finland alongside other members of his youth football team when visiting the country in 2010.^[1][2][3][4]

Atakayi joined the youth system at FF Jaro in 2013 and made his senior debut for the club in 2015.^[5] He became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Finnish top flight when he scored against HIFK on 17 May 2015, aged 16 years and 107 days.^[6][1]

On 31 August 2016, after trial periods with Leicester City and Fulham, he joined Rangers on a three-year contract.^[7] He signed a one-year contract extension to tie him to Rangers until 2020 in June 2018.^[8] He made his debut against Motherwell in a 7–1 win during November 2018 but suffered a broken ankle in the game.^[9][3]

Atakayi left Rangers on 30 December 2019 to join Finnish side SJK for a reported fee of £100,000.^[10][11] Atakayi played in 19 games on the 2020 season and scored once. On 4 June 2021 it was told by SJK-head coach Jani Honkavaara that Atakayi had not been training with the team since February because of attitude problems. ^[12] Atakayi only played in one Finnish Cup game for SJK in the 2021 season. On 28 July 2021 he moved to TPS on loan.^[13]

On 15 July 2022 it was announced that Atakayi had signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic on an 18 month contract for an undisclosed fee.^[14] He made his debut on the same day, in a 1–1 draw with Dundalk at Richmond Park.^[15] His first goal for the club came on 4 August 2022 when he scored an 87th minute winner away to CSKA Sofia in the UEFA Europa Conference League Third qualifying round.^[16] On 14 August 2022, he scored the winning goal against Sligo Rovers at Richmond Park in what was his first league start for the club.^[17] On 19 August 2022, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory away to UCD, his third goal in his last four games.^[18] On 14 October 2022, he opened the scoring in a 3–1 win over Dublin rivals Bohemians.^[19] He followed that up a week later by again opening the scoring in another Dublin derby, this time away to Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium.^[20] In December 2023, it was announced that Atakayi had been released by the club at the end of his contract, following his loan spell with Waterford.^[21]

On 1 July 2023, Atakayi signed for League of Ireland First Division side Waterford on loan until the end of the season.^[22] He made 14 appearances in all competitions as his side earned promotion back to the League of Ireland Premier Division via the playoffs.^[23]

On 25 August 2024, Atakayi signed with Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (KTP) in Finnish second-tier Ykkösliiga.^[24] He made one appearance before the end of the season, as they won the 2024 Ykkösliiga to gain promotion to the Veikkausliiga.^[25]

Atakayi was born in DR Congo but obtained Finnish citizenship in 2016 and represented Finland at under-15 level.^[5] In June 2016, Atakayi represented Finland at under-18 level in the Baltic Cup and scored in a 2–2 draw with Lithuania on 2 June 2016.^[26][27] He made his debut for the Finland under-19 side on 4 September 2016, in a goalless draw with Romania.^[28]

While living in Glasgow, Atakayi become close friends with compatriot Youssouf Mulumbu who was playing for Celtic at the time and was a senior international for DR Congo. Mulumbu spoke with Atakayi about changing his international allegiance to his birth country.^[29] In March 2019, Atakayi was called up to the DR Congo U23 team for two 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification fixtures against Morocco U23.^[30] The first leg at home in Kinshasa represented a first opportunity for Atakayi to return home to see his family since seeking asylum from the country in 2010.^[4]

As of match played on 28 September 2024^[31]

KTP

• Ykkösliiga: 2024^[32]

• Serge Atakayi at Soccerbase