William Mbongo Desire Hondermarck (born 21 November 2000) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

. Born in France, he plays for the

Congo national football team The Congo national football team ( Kikongo: ''Ekipe ya nkweso ya nsi ya Kongo'') represents the Republic of the Congo in men's association football and is governed by the Congolese Football Federation. They have never qualified for the World C ...

Early life

Will Hondermarck was born in

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 2005 due to work commitments. He attended

St. Fintan's High School St. Fintans High School () is an all-boys Roman Catholic voluntary-aided secondary school located between Sutton, Dublin, Sutton and Baldoyle, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. History Background A school originally opened at Bellevue Hous ...

in Dublin. His father is a German-born Frenchman, and his mother is French of Congolese descent. Due to his upbringing in Ireland, he holds an Irish passport since 2019, making him eligible to play for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

which he stated in 2021 he was keen to do.

Career

Early career

Having made 14 appearances for

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Sullivan & Lambe Park. The current club is the ...

during the 2018 season, he joined

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

in January 2019. He joined League Two club Harrogate Town on loan until the end of the season in January 2021. He made his debut for the club on 9 January 2021 as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

. He made his first start for the club on 30 April 2021 in a 5–4 win over Cambridge United. He made 3 appearances in total during his loan spell at Harrogate Town, and was released by Norwich at the end of the season.

Barnsley

After a trial spell with

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

in summer 2021, he signed for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in September 2021. In summer 2022, Hondermarck signed a new two-year contract with Barnsley.

Northampton Town

In January 2023, Hondermarck signed for League Two club

on a two-and-a-half-year contract. On 6 May 2025, the club announced the player would leave in June when his contract expired.

International career

On 8 November 2021, Hondermarck was called up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the first time for their 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

as a replacement for the injured Ryan Johansson. On 9 June 2023, he was called up to the Congo senior squad for an upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. He is eligible to represent Congo through his mother, who is of Congolese descent. Hondermarck made his debut for Congo on 11 June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

at the Adrar Stadium. He substituted

Silvère Ganvoula Silvère Ganvoula M'boussy (born 29 June 1996) is a Congolese professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for club AC Monza, Monza and the Congo national football team, Congo national team ...

in the 78th minute, as Morocco won 6–0.

Career statistics

Honours

Northampton Town *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

promotion:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hondermarck, William 2000 births Living people Footballers from Orléans Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of the Congo men's footballers Republic of the Congo men's international footballers French men's footballers Irish people of French descent Irish people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent French sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent French emigrants to Ireland Men's association football midfielders Drogheda United F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players Association footballers from Dublin (city) Black French sportspeople 21st-century French sportsmen 21st-century Irish sportsmen