Martin Hongla
Cameroonian footballer
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Martin Hongla Yma II (born 16 March 1998) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Super League Greece club Aris, on loan from Spanish club Granada, and the Cameroon national team.
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Hongla playing for Cameroon at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Martin Hongla Yma II[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 March 1998 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Yaoundé, Cameroon | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Aris (on loan from Granada) | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 78 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2016 | Nkufo Academy | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Granada B | 35 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Granada | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | → Barcelona B (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | → Karpaty Lviv (loan) | 13 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Royal Antwerp | 37 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | → Hellas Verona (loan) | 18 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Hellas Verona | 24 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | → Valladolid (loan) | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Granada | 50 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | → Aris (loan) | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Cameroon U17 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Cameroon U20 | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Cameroon U23 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Cameroon | 35 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 November 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Born in Yaoundé, Hongla joined Granada CF in 2016, from Blaise Nkufo's Nkufo Sports Academy.[3] He was initially assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B.
Hongla made his senior debut on 21 August 2016, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Atlético Mancha Real.[4] He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 28 January 2017, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 defeat at Villarreal CF.[5]
Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Hongla was definitely promoted to the main squad, now in Segunda División.[6] On 16 January 2018, he was loaned to fellow league team FC Barcelona B, for six months.[7]
On 3 July 2019, after a six-month loan to FC Karpaty Lviv, Hongla joined Royal Antwerp FC in the Belgian First Division A.[8] On 9 July 2021, he joined Italian Serie A club Hellas Verona on loan with a conditional purchase obligation.[9]
On 31 January 2023, Hongla returned to Spain and its top tier, after agreeing to a six-month loan deal with Real Valladolid.[10]
On 12 January 2024, Hongla returned to Granada.[11][12] He reportedly signed a three-and-a-half-year contract for a transfer fee of €2.5 million.[13]
On 13 January 2026, Hongla was loaned to Super League Greece club Aris with an obligatory buyout clause.[14]
International career
Hongla played at the 2015 African U-17 Championship, 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualification and the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.[15]
He made his debut for Cameroon national team on 16 November 2020 in a Cup of Nations qualifier game against Mozambique, as a starter.[16]
On November 10, 2022, he was selected by Rigobert Song to compete in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[17]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 28 September 2025[18]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Granada B | 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Segunda División B | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 1 | — | — | — | 35 | 1 | |||||
| Granada | 2016–17 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Barcelona B (loan) | 2017–18 | Segunda División | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Karpaty Lviv (loan) | 2018–19 | Ukrainian Premier League | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| Royal Antwerp | 2019–20 | Belgian First Division A | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Belgian First Division A | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8[b] | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 43 | 3 | |
| Total | 37 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 58 | 3 | ||
| Hellas Verona (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Hellas Verona | 2022–23 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Total | 42 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 47 | 0 | ||||
| Real Valladolid (loan) | 2022–23 | La Liga | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Granada | 2023–24 | Segunda División | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Segunda División | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2025–26 | Segunda División | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | |||
| Total | 50 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 51 | 4 | ||||
| Career total | 209 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 240 | 11 | ||
- Appearances in Relegation play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in Belgian Pro League play-offs
International
- As of match played 13 November 2025[19]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | |||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 1 | |
