Ken Sema

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Ken Sema
Personal information
Full name Kenneth Nlata Sema[1]
Date of birth (1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 (age 32)
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 24 (0)
International career‡
2016 Sweden Olympic 4 (1)
2017– Sweden 32 (5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:02, 9 November 2025 (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

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Early career

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Club

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As of match played 9 November 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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 8 0 0 0 — 9[e] 0 17 0
Total 24 0 3 0 — 13 0 40 0
Career total 337 36 28 3 10 1 26 1 400 41
  1. ^ Includes Svenska Cupen, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, Cypriot Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

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As of match played on 18 November 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year
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.
List of international goals scored by Ken Sema
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 October 2024 Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia 2–0 2–2 2024–25 UEFA Nations League
2. 25 March 2025 Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden File:Ulster Banner.svg Northern Ireland 3–0 5–1 Friendly
3. 10 June 2025 Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden File:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria 1–0 4–3 Friendly
4. 2–0
5. 3–0

Honours

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Östersund[27][28]

Pafos

References

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  27. ^ Ken Sema at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish) (archived)
  28. ^ Ken Sema at SoccerwayLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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