Kenneth Paal
Surinamese footballer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenneth Immanuël Paal (born 24 June 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a left back for Antalyaspor in the Süper Lig and the Suriname national football team. Born in the Netherlands, Paal represented them at U17 level before switching to Suriname at senior level.
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Paal in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Immanuël Paal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1997[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Arnhem, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Antalyaspor | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| NEC | |||
| –2014 | PSV | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2018 | Jong PSV | 88 | (5) |
| 2015–2019 | PSV | 5 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → PEC Zwolle (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | PEC Zwolle | 71 | (3) |
| 2022–2025 | Queens Park Rangers | 123 | (6) |
| 2025– | Antalyaspor | 12 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2014 | Netherlands U17 | 13 | (0) |
| 2022– | Suriname | 21 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 05:55, 10 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Paal made his professional debut for Jong PSV playing in the Eerste Divisie, the 2nd tier of professional football in the Netherlands, on 9 August 2014 against Achilles '29. He started in the first eleven at the first fixture of the 2014–15 season.[3]
PEC Zwolle
In June 2018, Paal joined PEC Zwolle on loan for the 2018–19 season with the club holding the option to buy.[4] In May 2019, he signed a three-year contract with the club.[5][6]
Queens Park Rangers
On 19 June 2022, Paal joined Championship club Queens Park Rangers on a three-year contract following the mutual termination of his contract with PEC Zwolle.[7] He scored his first goal for QPR in a 3-0 win against Cardiff City on 19 October 2022.[8]
He departed the club upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2024–25 season.[9]
Antalyaspor
On Friday 11 July, Paal joined Super Lig side Antalyaspor as a free agent at the end of his contract with Queens Park Rangers. [10]
International career
Paal played with the Netherlands under-17 team at the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. The Netherlands reached the final of the tournament, where they were defeated by England in a penalty shoot-out.
He later took part in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with the Netherlands under-19 team in both 2015 and 2016.
On 31 May 2022 it was announced that Paal was officially eligible to represent Suriname at the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League.[11] Due to contract negotiations for a new club, Paal was unavailable to play for the national team. On 22 September 2022 Paal made his debut for his Suriname, in friendly against Nicaragua. It was held in Almere, Netherlands and resulted in a 2–1 victory for Suriname.[12]
Personal life
Born in the Netherlands, Paal is of Surinamese descent.[13]
Career statistics
- As of end of 2024–25 season
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong PSV | 2014–15 | Eerste Divisie | 9 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Eerste Divisie | 34 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 34 | 2 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 11 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 88 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 5 | ||
| PSV | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| PEC Zwolle (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| Pec Zwolle | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | |
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Total | 100 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 3 | ||
| QPR | 2022–23 | Championship | 40 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | |
| 2023–24 | Championship | 44 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 46 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25 | Championship | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 43 | 1 | ||
| Total | 123 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 316 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 330 | 14 | ||