Afimico Pululu

Afimico Pululu (born 23 March 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Pro League club Al-Hazem. Born in Angola to Congolese parents and raised in France, he has committed to play for the DR Congo national team.

Club career

Youth career Pululu started his youth career with local club A.S. Coteaux Mulhouse. In the summer of 2013, he moved to Basel's youth academy and advanced through all stages, until in 2015 he reached their under-21 team, playing in the third tier of Swiss football.

Basel In May 2017, Pululu signed a four-year contract and advanced to Basel's first team under head coach Urs Fischer. After playing in three test games, Pululu played his domestic league debut for the club in a home game on 20 August 2017 as Basel played a 1–1 draw with Lugano at the St. Jakob-Park.

Loan to Xamax On 29 January 2019, Basel announced that Pululu was transferred to Xamax on loan until the end of the season. He made his first appearance for Xamax against Young Boys on 2 February. He scored two goals for Xamax in the match against Sion on 9 March.

Return to Basel

He returned to Basel for their 2019–20 season under head coach Marcel Koller and signed an extended contract until summer 2022. In the team's first test match that season, Pululu was substituted in at half-time and scored a hat-trick to help the team win 4–2 against SC Kriens after being two goals down at the break. He scored his first domestic league goal for his club on 8 December in the home game as Basel won 1–0 against Sion. Across the season, Pululu made 29 appearances, however always as substitute. To gain match practice, he played for the under-21 team. Therefore, the club looked for a new solution and the player left Basel on a free transfer.

Between 2017 and 2022, Pululu played a total of 115 games for Basel's first team, scoring a total of 13 goals. 59 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, eight in the Swiss Cup, six in the UEFA competitions (Champions, Europa and Conference League) and 32 were friendly games. He scored four goals in the domestic league, one in the cup and the other eight were scored during the test games.

Greuther Fürth On 7 January 2022, Basel announced that Pululu would move to Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth. Greuther Fürth confirmed the transfer on the same day and stated that the player had signed on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Jagiellonia

On 22 June 2023, Pululu joined Polish Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok, signing a two-year deal with an extension option. On 7 November 2024, Pululu scored the opening goal in a 3–0 victory over Molde in the UEFA Conference League.

Pululu became the top scorer of the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League season with eight goals.

On 21 May 2026, Pululu announced that he would depart the club upon the expiration of his contract in June. In total, he made 134 appearances for Jagiellonia, recording 56 goals and 17 assists.

Al-Hazem On 4 August 2026, Pululu signed with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hazem.

International career Born in Angola to parents from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and raised in France, Pululu is eligible for either country at international level.

In March 2025, after being approached by both DR Congo and Angola team officials, Pululu chose to represent the latter. He received his first call-up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Libya and Cape Verde to be played on 20 and 25 March, but withdrew from the squad for health reasons on 18 March.

In May 2025, Pululu reverted his decision to play for Angola and pledged his allegiance to DR Congo, after being persuaded by their assistant head coach Rafael Hamidi Cuadros. On 8 May, he was called up for upcoming friendlies against Mali and Madagascar. On 7 June, he pulled out of the squad due to an injury.

In January 2026, Pululu obtained Congolese nationality and was cleared to represent the DR Congo national team.

Career statistics

Honours Basel Swiss Cup: 2018–19

Jagiellonia Białystok Ekstraklasa: 2023–24 Polish Super Cup: 2024

Individual Ekstraklasa Player of the Month: May 2024 Ekstraklasa Team of the Season: 2023–24 UEFA Conference League top scorer: 2024–25 UEFA Conference League Team of the Season: 2024–25