Oskari Johannes Orevillo Kekkonen[2] (born 24 September 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Thai League 1 club Lamphun Warrior and the Philippines national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oskari Johannes Orevillo Kekkonen | ||
| Date of birth | 24 September 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Kotka, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lamphun Warrior | ||
| Number | 55 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Peli-Karhut | |||
| 2019 | SJK Seinäjoki | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | KTP | 11 | (0) |
| 2016 | → Sudet (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Lahti | 7 | (0) |
| 2017 | → FC Kuusysi (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2018 | → PKKU (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2018 | → KTP (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2019 | PeKa | 19 | (5) |
| 2019–2021 | PEPO | 21 | (3) |
| 2021 | PeKa | 2 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Azkals Development Team | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | Kaya-Iloilo | 12 | (0) |
| 2023 | PK-35 | 6 | (0) |
| 2023– | Lamphun Warriors | 18 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Finland U18 | ||
| 2021–2022 | Philippines U23 | 10 | (1) |
| 2021– | Philippines | 10 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:36, 28 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:00, 26 March 2024 (UTC) | |||
Born in Finland to a Filipino mother and a Finnish father, he played for his birth country at youth level before switching international allegiance to the Philippines in 2021.
Club career
Born in Kotka, Finland, to a Filipino mother and a Finnish father,[3] he made his first-team debut for KTP in 2016, at the age of 17.[4] He then played for Sudet, FC Lahti, FC Kuusysi and PKKU.[1][5]
On 21 July 2018, he re-joined KTP on loan from FC Lahti until the end of the season.[6] In April 2019 it appeared from SJK Seinäjoki's website, that Kekkonen had become a part of the club's U20 squad.[7][8] He returned to his childhood club, Peli-Karhut, in April 2019.[8] In September 2019, Kekkonen joined PEPO Lappeenranta.[9]
As of October 2021, he was signed with the Azkals Development Team of the Philippines Football League.[10] In his first tournament with the club, they finished as runners-up of the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara.[11] In January 2022 he moved to Kaya-Iloilo.[12]
He returned to Finland with PK-35 for the 2023 season.[13]
On 2 July 2023, he signed with Lamphun Warriors for the 2023–24 Thai League 1 Season.[14]
International career
Finland U18
Kekkonen played for Finland's under-18 team in the 2017 Baltic Cup. He came on as a 75th minute sub in their opening match where Finland defeated Latvia 4–0.[15]
Philippines U23
He then played for the Philippines under-23 team at the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.[16] He made his debut on 25 October 2021, coming on as a 33rd minute substitute in their 3–0 loss to South Korea U23.[10] Kekkonen was included in the 20-man squad for 31st Southeast Asian Games, which was held in Vietnam.[17] Kekkonen scored his first goal for Philippines U23 in a 4–0 win against Timor-Leste.[18][19]
Philippines
Kekkonen was named in the Philippines' squad for the 2020 AFF Championship.[20] He made his senior international debut on 8 December 2021 as a substitute in their 2–1 loss to hosts Singapore.[21][22][23]