Martin Hongla

Martin Hongla Yma II (born 16 March 1998) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Segunda División club Granada and the Cameroon national team.

Martin Hongla

Hongla playing for Cameroon at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
Personal information
Full name	Martin Hongla Yma II[1]
Date of birth	(1998-03-16) 16 March 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder, centre-back
Team information
Current team	Granada
Number	6
Youth career
0000–2016	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	37	(2)
International career‡
2015	Cameroon U17	3	(1)
2017	Cameroon U20	3	(2)
2019	Cameroon U23	2	(0)
2020–	Cameroon	31	(1)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Cameroon Africa Cup of Nations 2021 Cameroon
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19 March 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]

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.^[14]

He made his debut for Cameroon national team on 16 November 2020 in a Cup of Nations qualifier game against Mozambique, as a starter.^[15]

On November 10, 2022, he was selected by Rigobert Song to compete in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[16]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 March 2025^[17]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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	24	2	1	0	—		—		25	2
	Total		37	2	1	0	—		—		38	2
Career total			196	9	13	0	10	0	8	0	227	9

1. Appearances in Relegation play-offs
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in Belgian Pro League play-offs

International

As of match played 19 March 2025^[18]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Cameroon
	2020	1	0
	2021	10	0
	2022	10	0
	2023	1	0
	2024	8	1
	2025	1	0
Total		31	1

Honours

Antwerp

• Belgian Cup: 2019–20^[19]

Cameroon

• Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2021^[20]