Ken Sema
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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 and did not get his contract renewed after it expired at the end of the season.
In 2014, he signed for second-tier team Ljungskile SK.
Östersunds FK
In January 2016, Sema signed for Östersunds FK in the Allsvenskan, 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, 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.
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. The next day, Watford confirmed the signing. He scored his first goal against Bournemouth on 2 January 2019 in a 3–3 draw.
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.
On 6 February 2024, Sema made his 150th appearance for Watford in their FA Cup fourth round replay defeat to Southampton.
On 29 January 2025, Sema departed Watford having had his contract terminated by mutual consent.
Loan to Udinese
On 22 August 2019, Udinese Calcio signed Sema on a season-long loan from Watford. He made his Serie A debut for Udinese on 25 August 2019 in a 1–0 win against AC Milan.
Pafos
On 31 January 2025, Sema signed a contract with Cypriot First Division club Pafos. Sema was part of the Pafos side that won the club's first Cypriot league title during the 2024–25 season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On 15 June 2025 he scored a hat-trick in an international friendly against Algeria which Sweden won 4–3.
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. 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.
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 22 March 2026
| 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 | |
| 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 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 2025–26 | Cypriot First Division | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 345 | 36 | 29 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 411 | 41 |
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
Östersund
Pafos
External links
- at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
- club team profile at SvFF (in Swedish) (archived)
- national team profile at SvFF (in Swedish) (archived)