Kei Kamara facts for kids
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Kamara with Sierra Leone in 2022
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kei Ansiu Kamara | ||
| Date of birth | 1 September 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Kenema, Sierra Leone | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
FC Cincinnati | ||
| Number | 85 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Kallon | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2005 | Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros | 47 | (31) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2005 | Orange County Blue Star | 19 | (16) |
| 2006–2007 | Columbus Crew | 36 | (5) |
| 2008 | San Jose Earthquakes | 12 | (2) |
| 2008–2009 | Houston Dynamo | 32 | (7) |
| 2009–2013 | Sporting Kansas City | 113 | (38) |
| 2013 | → Norwich City (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | Middlesbrough | 25 | (4) |
| 2015–2016 | Columbus Crew | 41 | (27) |
| 2016–2017 | New England Revolution | 52 | (19) |
| 2018 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 28 | (14) |
| 2019–2020 | Colorado Rapids | 38 | (17) |
| 2020 | Minnesota United | 7 | (1) |
| 2021 | HIFK | 14 | (5) |
| 2022 | CF Montréal | 32 | (9) |
| 2023 | Chicago Fire | 27 | (5) |
| 2024 | Los Angeles FC | 27 | (3) |
| 2025– | FC Cincinnati | 13 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008– | Sierra Leone | 42 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:43, July 27, 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2025 |
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Kei Ansu Kamara (born 1 September 1984) is a professional footballer from Sierra Leone. He plays as a striker for FC Cincinnati. Kei is one of only 13 players to have scored 100 goals in the history of MLS. He reached this amazing goal in 300 games. He is currently second on the MLS all-time scoring list. He has scored goals for 11 different MLS clubs, which is a record!
Contents
Kei Kamara's Early Life
Kei Kamara was born and grew up in Kenema, which is the third-largest city in Sierra Leone. He started playing football when he was a child. Playing football helped him cope during the Sierra Leone Civil War. When he was 16, Kei and his family moved to the United States as part of a refugee program. They first went to Maryland and then settled in Hawthorne, California. Before coming to the U.S., he even spent two years in a refugee camp in the Gambia. In 2006, he became an American citizen. He began his football career playing for Kallon F.C. from 2001 to 2003.
College Soccer and Early Teams
Kei played college soccer at California State University, Dominguez Hills. In his second year, he was named a third-team All-American. Kei also played for two seasons with Orange County Blue Star in the USL Premier Development League.
Kei Kamara's Club Career
Starting Out in MLS (2006–2009)
The Columbus Crew picked Kei Kamara in the first round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He played for them for two seasons, appearing in 36 games and scoring five goals.
In 2008, he was traded to the San Jose Earthquakes. He played 12 games there and scored two goals. Later that year, on July 24, 2008, Kamara was traded to Houston Dynamo. On September 30, 2008, he scored two goals for Houston against a Mexican club called UNAM Pumas in a CONCACAF Champions League match.
Playing for Sporting Kansas City
On September 15, 2009, Kamara joined Sporting Kansas City. He had many successful seasons with this team. He became known as one of the best wingers in the league.
Loan to Norwich City
In 2013, Kei Kamara was loaned to Norwich City, a team in the English Premier League. He joined them for the rest of the 2012–13 season. He made his debut for Norwich on February 9, 2013. On February 23, he scored his first goal for Norwich against Everton with a powerful header. Norwich won that game 2–1. After the season, Norwich decided not to sign him permanently, so he returned to Sporting Kansas City.
Time with Middlesbrough
On September 2, 2013, Kamara signed a two-year contract with Middlesbrough, a team in the Championship. He made his first appearance for them 12 days later. On September 17, he scored his first goal for Middlesbrough in a game against Nottingham Forest. He also scored in his first home game and in two other matches. On August 28, 2014, Kamara left Middlesbrough by agreement.
Back to Columbus Crew
In late 2014, Kei Kamara returned to MLS and rejoined Columbus Crew SC. He officially became part of the team on January 1, 2015.
The next season, Kamara helped the Crew reach the play-offs. He finished the 2015 MLS season as the joint top-scorer in the league with 22 goals. He also won the MLS Humanitarian of the Year Award for his good work off the field. In the MLS Playoffs, he scored two goals against Montreal Impact to help Columbus advance. He also scored in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 2015 MLS Cup Final, he scored the only goal for Columbus in a 2–1 loss. He was the top scorer in the 2015 MLS Playoffs with 4 goals.
In 2016, Kei had a disagreement with a teammate over a penalty kick. Because of this, he was suspended for the next game by his coach.
Playing for New England Revolution
On May 12, 2016, Kamara was traded to New England Revolution. He made his debut for them on May 14, 2016. He scored his first goal for New England in a U.S. Open Cup game on June 29. On July 2, he scored his 80th career MLS goal, becoming only the 16th player to do so.
On September 2, 2017, Kamara scored his first MLS hat-trick (three goals in one game) against Orlando City. His first goal in that game was his 100th career MLS goal. This made him only the 12th player in MLS history to reach 100 goals. He was the top scorer for the Revolution in 2017 with 12 goals.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
On December 10, 2017, Kamara was traded to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He scored in his first game for them on March 4, 2018. He left Vancouver at the end of the 2018 season.
Colorado Rapids
On December 11, 2018, Kamara was picked by FC Cincinnati in the MLS Expansion Draft. He was immediately traded to Colorado Rapids.
On August 3, 2019, Kamara scored his second career hat-trick in a 6–3 win. He scored 11 league goals that season, which was the most for a Rapids player since 2010.
Minnesota United
On September 18, 2020, Colorado traded Kamara to Minnesota United. On October 3, 2020, he scored a penalty kick against FC Cincinnati. This made him the first MLS player to score for eight different teams. No other player had scored for more than six teams before him.
HIFK Fotboll
On July 30, 2021, Kamara signed with HIFK Fotboll in Finland. He played there until the end of the 2021 season.
CF Montréal
In February 2022, Kamara returned to North America and joined CF Montréal. He made his debut on February 23. On April 2, he scored his first goal for the club against FC Cincinnati. This made him the first MLS player to score for nine different teams. He also had two assists in that game, helping his team win 4–3. On August 20, Kamara scored his 135th MLS goal, passing another player to become the third-highest scorer in MLS history.
Chicago Fire
Kamara was traded to the Chicago Fire before the 2023 season. On March 25, in his third game with the team, he scored a late goal to help win 3–2. This made him the first player to score for 10 clubs in the MLS. He also became the first player in MLS history to score in 16 different seasons. On April 8, he scored two goals against his former team, Minnesota United. On July 27, he scored another late winning goal in his Leagues Cup debut.
Los Angeles FC
On March 29, 2024, Kamara signed with Los Angeles FC for the 2024 season. He became the oldest active player in the U.S. top league. On May 8, he scored his first goal for the club. This made him the only player to have scored for 11 different MLS teams in the United States. On June 19, he scored his first MLS goal for the club, which was his 145th MLS goal. This tied him with Landon Donovan for the second-most goals in MLS history. In the next game on June 22, he scored his 146th MLS goal, passing Donovan to become the second-highest goalscorer in league history. Only Chris Wondolowski has scored more. On July 4, he scored a goal at 39 years and 10 months old, becoming the oldest scorer in the "El Tráfico" rivalry.
Kei was one of the top scorers in the 2024 Leagues Cup with three goals. He helped Los Angeles reach the Leagues Cup Final for the first time. On September 25, Kamara came off the bench in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup final. He scored a header in extra-time to help win 3–1. At 40 years and 24 days old, he became both the oldest player and the oldest scorer in an Open Cup final since MLS started in 1996.
FC Cincinnati
On May 12, 2025, FC Cincinnati announced that they had signed Kamara. He became the oldest player on the team. On May 14, he played his first game for the club.
Kei Kamara's International Career
Kei Kamara has played for the Sierra Leone national football team since 2008. In August 2019, he was briefly removed from the team but was called back later that month. He announced his retirement from international duty in November 2019. However, he later returned to the national team. On June 12, 2021, Kamara scored the only goal for Sierra Leone in a victory against Benin. This win helped Sierra Leone qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. It was their first time qualifying since 1996!
On April 21, 2022, Kamara announced his retirement from international football again. But he came out of retirement for a second time in November 2024. At 40 years old, he played against Chad in a qualification game.
Kei Kamara's Personal Life
Kei Kamara became a U.S. citizen in 2006. He is married and has three children.
Kei Kamara's Career Highlights
Club Achievements
- Sporting Kansas City
- Eastern Conference (Regular Season): 2011, 2012
- U.S. Open Cup: 2012
- Columbus Crew
- Eastern Conference (Playoffs): 2015
- Los Angeles FC
- U.S. Open Cup: 2024
Individual Awards
- MLS Fair Play Award: 2007
- Sierra Leonean Player of the Year: 2012
- MLS Joint Top-scorer: 2015 (22 goals)
- MLS All-Star: 2015, 2023
- MLS Works Humanitarian of the Year: 2015
- MLS Best XI: 2015
- MLS Cup Playoffs Top-scorer: 2015
- MLS 100 goals club
- MLS 400 Games Club
See also
In Spanish: Kei Kamara para niños
