Osman Jovan Kakay (born 25 August 1997) is a

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

an professional footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. Born in England, he represents the Sierra Leone national team. Kakay was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

to parents from Sierra Leone.

Club career

Queens Park Rangers

After playing in

' academy, Kakay signed his first professional contract with the club in 2015. On 29 January 2016, he signed a new one-year deal to keep him at QPR until 2017. He made his first QPR appearance starting out of position in the right of midfield in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

second round victory over

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, before being substituted after 73 minutes to an ovation from the Queens Park Rangers support. In November 2018, QPR offered Kakay a contract extension, extending his deal at Loftus Road to 2021. On 5 September 2020, Kakay scored his first professional goal in an EFL Cup tie against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. On 1 May 2021, Kakay scored his first

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

goal in a 2–0 win away to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

Livingston (loan)

On 29 January 2016, Kakay signed a loan deal at

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

until the end of the season. Kakay made his professional debut on 30 January 2016, playing the full game in Livingston's 1–0 away loss to

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

in the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

Chesterfield (loan)

On 31 January 2017, Kakay signed a loan deal at

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

until the end of the 2016–17 season.

Partick Thistle (loan)

On 2 September 2019, Kakay signed for

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

on loan until January 2020. Kakay originally played as a right back for Thistle, but played as a right winger for the majority of his stay at the Glasgow club.

International career

On 9 September 2018 Kakay made his international debut for

against Ethiopia national football team, Ethiopia in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. In December 2021, Kakay was named in the Sierra Leone squad for the upcoming

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's foo ...

as the nation prepared for their first appearance at the competition since 1996. Kakay played the full ninety minutes of his side's opening match as they held one of the pre-tournament favourites and holders

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

to a goalless draw.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kakay, Osman 1997 births Living people People with acquired Sierra Leonean citizenship Sierra Leonean men's footballers Men's association football defenders Livingston F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Sierra Leone men's international footballers Sierra Leonean expatriate men's footballers Sierra Leonean expatriates in the United Kingdom Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Sierra Leonean people of Nigerian descent Footballers from Westminster English men's footballers Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players English Football League players English expatriate men's footballers Black British sportsmen English sportspeople of Sierra Leonean descent English sportspeople of Nigerian descent 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players