Joseph Ceesay

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Joseph Ceesay

| fullname = Lars Joseph Ceesay

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1998|6|3|df=y}}

| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| height = 1.78 m

| position = Right-back, winger

| currentclub = Cesena

| clubnumber = 11

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = Hässelby

| youthyears2 = 2008–2013

| youthclubs2 = Brommapojkarna

| youthyears3 = 2013–2016

| youthclubs3 = Djurgården

| years1 = 2016–2019

| clubs1 = Djurgården

| caps1 = 0

| goals1 = 0

| years2 = 2017

| clubs2 = → Vasalund (loan)

| caps2 = 3

| goals2 = 1

| years3 = 2017

| clubs3 = → Frej (loan)

| caps3 = 11

| goals3 = 1

| years4 = 2018

| clubs4 = → Frej (loan)

| caps4 = 9

| goals4 = 0

| years5 = 2018

| clubs5 = → Brage (loan)

| caps5 = 10

| goals5 = 2

| years6 = 2019

| clubs6 = → Dalkurd (loan)

| caps6 = 26

| goals6 = 6

| years7 = 2020–2021

| clubs7 = Helsingborgs IF

| caps7 = 19

| goals7 = 0

| years8 = 2021–2022

| clubs8 = Lechia Gdańsk

| caps8 = 33

| goals8 = 1

| years9 = 2022–

| clubs9 = Malmö FF

| caps9 = 29

| goals9 = 0

| years10 = 2024

| clubs10 = → IFK Norrköping (loan)

| caps10 = 7

| goals10 = 0

| years11 = 2024–

| clubs11 = → Cesena (loan)

| caps11 = 28

| goals11 = 0

| nationalyears1 = 2016–2017

| nationalteam1 = Sweden U19

| nationalcaps1 = 3

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 2024–

| nationalteam2 = Gambia

| nationalcaps2 = 1

| nationalgoals2 = 0

| club-update = 15 May 2025

| nationalteam-update = 4 September 2024

}}

Lars Joseph Ceesay (born 3 June 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for {{Italian football updater|Cesena}} club Cesena, on loan from Allsvenskan side Malmö FF.{{Soccerway|access-date=14 April 2024}} Born in Sweden, he represents Gambia at international level.

Club career

Ceesay began to play football in Hässelby SK.{{Cite web|date=15 September 2018|title=Brages Joseph Ceesay inför lördagens match|url=http://ikbrage.se/nyheter/brages-joseph-ceesay-infor-lordagens-match|access-date=8 October 2020|website=IK Brage|language=sv-SE|archive-date=17 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117152847/https://ikbrage.se/nyheter/brages-joseph-ceesay-infor-lordagens-match|url-status=dead}} In 2008 he moved to Brommapojkarna, well known for their youth academy. In the summer of 2013, Ceesay moved to another club in the Stockholm region, Djurgården. In November 2016 he signed his first A-team deal with Djurgården; a 3.5-years contract. During spring 2017, he was loaned out to Vasalund and scored a goal in May 2017 against Enskede.

In July 2017, Ceesay was loaned out to Frej for the rest of the 2017 season. In December, the loan was extended until the end of 2018.{{Cite web|title=Officiellt: Djurgården lånar ut Joseph Ceesay till Frej|url=http://fotbolltransfers.com/site/news/87103|access-date=8 October 2020|website=Fotbolltransfers.com|language=sv}} He was called back to Djurgården in July 2018,{{Cite web|title=Officiellt: Djurgårdens IF kallar tillbaka Joseph Ceesay|url=http://fotbolltransfers.com/site/news/95643|access-date=8 October 2020|website=Fotbolltransfers.com|language=sv}} only to be sent on loan to Brage a month later.{{Cite web|title=Officiellt: IK Brage lånar Joseph Ceesay|url=http://fotbolltransfers.com/site/news/96992|access-date=8 October 2020|website=Fotbolltransfers.com|language=sv}} In January 2019 he was again loaned, this time to Dalkurd, for the 2019 season.{{Cite web|date=29 January 2019|title=Välkommen till Dalkurd, Joseph Ceesay - Dalkurd FF|url=https://dalkurd.se/2019/01/28/valkommen-till-dalkurd-joseph-ceesay/|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129181734/https://dalkurd.se/2019/01/28/valkommen-till-dalkurd-joseph-ceesay/|archive-date=29 January 2019}}

On 29 November 2019, he signed with Helsingborgs IF on a two-year deal.{{Cite web|title=Joseph Ceesay klar för HIF|url=http://www.hif.se/news/joseph-ceesay-klar-hif/|access-date=8 October 2020|website=HIF|language=en|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011224317/http://www.hif.se/news/joseph-ceesay-klar-hif/|url-status=dead}}

On 11 July 2022, Ceesay signed with Malmö FF.

On 23 March 2024, it was decided that Ceesay would join IFK Norrköping on loan until the summer transfer window. He returned to Malmö FF after declining a loan extension, despite interest from both IFK Norrköping and Malmö FF for him to remain.{{Cite web|title=Officiellt: Joseph Ceesay lämnar IFK Norrköping|url=https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/allsvenskan/officiellt-joseph-ceesay-lamnar-ifk-norrkoping/|access-date=27 July 2024|website=Fotbollskanalen.se}}

On 24 July 2024, Serie B newcomers Cesena FC announced that Ceesay had joined on loan with an option to buy.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-26 |title=Joseph Ceesay Joins Cesena FC |url=https://cesenafc.com/en/news/2024/7/26/joseph-ceesay-joins-cesena-fc |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=IFK Norrköping |language=sv-SE}}

International career

Born in Sweden, Ceesay is of Gambian descent.{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/sport/fotboll/allsvenskan/kan-byta-bort-sverige--mot-afrikanska-succen/|title=Kan byta bort Sverige mot afrikanska succén|website=www.expressen.se|date=10 March 2022 }} On 5 October 2020, he was called up to the Sweden U21 national team training camp in Olympia, Helsingborg.{{Cite web|title=Ändringar i truppen – Tre U21-debutanter kallas in - Svensk fotboll|url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/nyheter/landslag/2020/10/Andringar-i-truppen-Tre-U21-debutanter-kallas-in/|access-date=8 October 2020|website=www.svenskfotboll.se|date=5 October 2020 |language=sv}} He did not appear in scheduled UEFA Euro U-21 qualifying games against Luxembourg{{Cite web|last=LiveScore|first=SofaScore com|title=Sweden U21 Luxembourg U21 live score, video stream and H2H results - SofaScore|url=https://www.sofascore.com/luxembourg-u21-sweden-u21/TVbsOvc|access-date=8 October 2020|website=www.sofascore.com|language=en}} and Armenia.{{Cite web|last=LiveScore|first=SofaScore com|title=Sweden U21 Armenia U21 live score, video stream and H2H results - SofaScore|url=https://www.sofascore.com/armenia-u21-sweden-u21/TVbstvc|access-date=8 October 2020|website=www.sofascore.com|language=en}}

Ceesay made his debut for the Gambia national team on 4 September 2024 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Comoros at the Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium, Morocco. He played the full game as it ended in a 1–1 draw.{{cite web|publisher=ESPN|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/match/_/gameId/715393/gambia-comoros|title=Comoros v Gambia game report|date=4 September 2024}}

Personal life

His younger brother Jesper Ceesay plays for IFK Norrköping.{{cite web |title=Jesper Ceesay |url=https://ifknorrkoping.se/vara-lag/ifk-norrkoping-herr/jesper-ceesay/ |website=ifknorrkoping.se |publisher=IFK Norrköping |access-date=18 July 2023 |language=Swedish}}