| Ken Sema | |
| Full Name: | Kenneth Nlata Sema[1] |
| Birth Date: | 30 September 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Norrköping, Sweden |
| Height: | 1.80 m |
| Position: | Midfielder Wing-back |
| Currentclub: | Watford |
| Clubnumber: | 12 |
| Youthyears1: | –2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | IFK Norrköping |
| Years1: | 2013 |
| Clubs1: | IFK Norrköping |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2013 |
| Clubs2: | → IF Sylvia (loan) |
| Caps2: | 22 |
| Goals2: | 4 |
| Years3: | 2014–2015 |
| Clubs3: | Ljungskile SK |
| Caps3: | 60 |
| Goals3: | 11 |
| Years4: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs4: | Östersunds FK |
| Caps4: | 58 |
| Goals4: | 8 |
| Years5: | 2018– |
| Clubs5: | Watford |
| Caps5: | 145 |
| Goals5: | 11 |
| Years6: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs6: | → Udinese (loan) |
| Caps6: | 32 |
| Goals6: | 2 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2016 |
| Nationalteam1: | Sweden Olympic |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017– |
| Nationalteam2: | Sweden |
| Nationalcaps2: | 18 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 4 May 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 16:56, 20 November 2023 (UTC) |
Kenneth Nlata Sema (born 30 September 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder for 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 | League cup | 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 | 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 | |||
| Total | 145 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 159 | 12 | ||||
| Udinese (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie A | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 299 | 36 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 343 | 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 | ||
| Total | 18 | 0 | ||
Östersund