Zachary Athekame
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zachary Christopher Athekame | ||
| Date of birth | 13 December 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Geneva, Switzerland[1] | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AC Milan | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Athlétique-Régina FC | ||
| 2013–2016 | Olympique de Genève FC | ||
| 2016–2019 | Servette | ||
| 2019–2022 | Meyrin | ||
| 2022 | Neuchâtel Xamax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2024 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 30 | (1) |
| 2024–2025 | Young Boys | 34 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Neuchâtel Xamax (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2025– | AC Milan | 18 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Switzerland U21 | 15 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:33, 1 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:45, 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Zachary Christopher Athekame (born 13 December 2004) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a right-back and right wing-back for Serie A club AC Milan.
Club career
Athekame spent his youth career at Swiss clubs Athlétique-Régina FC, Olympique de Genève FC, Servette and Meyrin.[3] He joined Neuchâtel Xamax in February 2022, then playing in the Swiss Challenge League, subsequently signing his first professional contract with the club on 12 December 2022.[4]
On 30 December 2023, Swiss Super League club Young Boys announced an agreement to sign Athekame until 2028, and he was loaned back to Neuchâtel Xamax for the second half of the 2023–24 season.[5]
On 15 August 2025, Athekame signed a five-year contract with Italian Serie A club AC Milan.[1][6][7]
International career
Born in Geneva, Switzerland,[1] Athekame's father is Nigerian and his mother is Swiss from Neuchâtel.[8] He is a Swiss youth international, having debuted for the Switzerland U21s in September 2023.[8][9][10]
He was called-up for the first time with the senior Switzerland national team by head coach Murat Yakin for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Slovenia on 13 October 2025, in which Athekame did not play during a goalless draw.[11][12][13]
Career statistics
- As of match played 1 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Neuchâtel Xamax | 2022–23 | Swiss Challenge League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[c] | Swiss Challenge League | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 2 | |||
| Total | 47 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 51 | 2 | |||
| Young Boys | 2024–25 | Swiss Super League | 30 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8[d] | 0 | — | 43 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | Swiss Super League | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | 47 | 1 | |||
| AC Milan | 2025–26 | Serie A | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Career total | 99 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 118 | 4 | ||
- ^ Includes Swiss Cup, Coppa Italia
- ^ Appearances in Swiss Challenge League promotion play-off
- ^ Part of the season spent on loan from Young Boys
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
References
- ^ a b c "Official Statement: ZACHARY ATHEKAME". acmilan.com. AC Milan. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ "Zachary Athekame". AC Milan. Archived from the original on 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
- ^ "Xamax: la trajectoire exemplaire de Zachary Athekame". ArcInfo.
- ^ Grafener, Carim (23 December 2022). "littoralfoot.ch - Xamax offre un premier contrat pro à Zachary Athekame". littoralfoot.ch.
- ^ Neuchâtel, www rtn ch, RTN, Radio Télévision (30 December 2023). "Zachary Athekame : de Xamax à YB". www.rtn.ch.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Milan, ecco Athekame: effettuate le visite mediche e contratto firmato, manca solo l'ufficialità". SportMediaset. 14 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ "Athekame follows Jashari to Milan". blue News.
- ^ a b Feller, Bastien (17 November 2023). "Zachary Athekame: "Il y a un poste à aller chercher"". Blick (in French). Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ "Zachary Athekame portera les couleurs d'YB dès prochaine saison". Littoral Foot. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Zachary Athekame, le Genevois qui se fait un nom à Neuchâtel". Proxi Foot. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Zachary Athekame ergänzt A-Nationalteam" (in German). Schweizerischer Fussballverband. 11 October 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ "Männer-Nationalteam: Die Schweiz spielt in Slowenien 0:0" (in German). Schweizerischer Fussballverband. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ "Yakin explains what Athekame needs to do with Switzerland senior team: "Need to learn"". Sempre Milan. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
External links
- Profile at the AC Milan website
- Zachary Athekame – UEFA competition record (archive)