.jpg) Kamara withFinland U21 in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Glen Adjei Kamara[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-10-28)28 October 1995 (age 29)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Tampere, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al Shabab (on loan fromRennes) | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2007 | Olarin Tarmo | ||
| 2008 | EPS | ||
| 2011–2012 | Southend United | ||
| 2012–2015 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2016 | →Southend United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | →Colchester United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Dundee | 54 | (0) |
| 2019–2023 | Rangers | 118 | (6) |
| 2023–2024 | Leeds United | 37 | (0) |
| 2024– | Rennes | 13 | (0) |
| 2025– | →Al Shabab (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Finland U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Finland U19 | 7 | (0) |
| 2014 | Finland U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Finland U21 | 14 | (0) |
| 2017– | Finland | 65 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 December 2024 | |||
Glen Adjei Kamara (born 28 October 1995) is a Finnish professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forSaudi Pro League clubAl Shabab, on loan fromLigue 1 clubRennes, and theFinland national team.
He began his senior career at Arsenal, where he made one substitute appearance in theFootball League Cup and was loaned toSouthend United andColchester United. After 18 months atDundee, he joined fellowScottish Premiership sideRangers for £50,000. He made thePFA Scotland Team of the Year when they won the league title in2020–21. In late August 2023 it was announced that he would be leaving Rangers to joinLeeds United in theEFL Championship. After a successful season with Leeds, Kamara joined French side Rennes for a €10 million fee. Six months later, he signed for Al-Shabab on loan.
Kamara made his senior international debut forFinland in 2017. He was named in their squad forUEFA Euro 2020. In 2022, he was recognized asFinnish Footballer of the Year by theFootball Association of Finland.
Kamara was born inTampere, Finland, torefugee parents fromSierra Leone.[4] He was raised inSoukka, in the city ofEspoo, from the age of two until the age of 12, when he moved toLondon, England, with his mother and sister.[4] In Espoo, Kamara had played football in the youth sectors of Olarin Tarmo –77 inOlari, and inEspoon Palloseura (EPS) inEspoonlahti.[5][6]
Kamara continued his career in England for Sunday sideWestway ofLadbroke Grove,[7] before moving to theSouthend United youth system and then on toArsenal in 2012.[8]
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At first Kamara joined up with the club'sacademy. He went on to be an unused substitute for Arsenal'sUEFA Champions League match againstGalatasaray in December 2014.[9] Kamara made his only appearance for Arsenal a day before his 20th birthday on 27 October 2015, up againstSheffield Wednesday in theEFL League Cup fourth round in an eventual 3–0 away loss; he started the match and was substituted forKrystian Bielik after an hour.[10]
On 22 January 2016, Kamara returned to Southend inLeague One, on loan for the rest of the season.[11][12] He played six matches, all but one as a starter.
On deadline day of the summer transfer window, 31 August 2016, Kamara joinedColchester United inLeague Two on loan until January 2017.[13] He played six times, starting just once in the league.
On 13 July 2017, Kamara signed a two-year deal withDundee.[14] He made his debut for the club in aScottish League Cup game away toRaith Rovers where he put in a man of the match performance.[15]
On 5 January 2019, Kamara signed a pre-contract withRangers on a four-and-a-half-year deal.[16] On 31 January, this deal was brought forward when the two clubs agreed to a £50,000 transfer.[17] He scored his first goal in senior club football on 27 February 2019, opening a 4–0 home win over his former club Dundee.[18]
On 18 March 2021, Kamara accusedSlavia Prague playerOndřej Kúdela of racist verbal abuse during aEuropa League knockout match.[19][20] Kúdela denied the claims of racism and claimed that after the match Kamara physically assaulted Kúdela in the stadium tunnel in front ofUEFA officials and Rangers managerSteven Gerrard.[21] Ahead of theOld Firm derby,Celtic and Rangers players stood side by side in support of Kamara.[22] On 14 April, UEFA officially found both Kamara and Kúdela guilty. Kúdela was banned for racial abuse for 10 UEFA matches, while Kamara was handed a three-match ban for assault. All happened in very emotional atmosphere after brutal foul on Slavia Prague goalkeeper Ondřej Kolář. He was seriously injured by another Rangers player Kemar Roofe who got also 4 matches ban after.[23]
On 22 September 2021, Kamara signed a new four-year contract with the club that would see him remain with the club until the summer of 2025.[24] Days later, he was sent off away toSparta Prague, a game in which his every touch was booed by the mostly underaged audience in relation to the Kúdela abuse; UEFA found insufficient evidence of a racial motive and did not punish the club.[25]
Kamara was an integral part of the Rangers squad in the club's2021–22 UEFA Europa League campaign. He scored an important goal againstRB Leipzig in the second leg of the semi finals,[26] and helped Rangers to reach to the finals of the competition, where they eventually fell short toEintracht Frankfurt on penalties, and won the silver medal.[27]
On 31 August 2023, Kamara signed a four-year deal withEnglish clubLeeds United for an undisclosed fee.[28] However, the transfer fee was reported in media to be around £5.5 million.[29][30] He became the fifth Finnish player to sign for Leeds afterSebastian Sorsa,Mika Väyrynen,Mikael Forssell andAapo Halme.
Kamara made his debut for Leeds in theEFL Championship on 2 September 2023, as a late substitute in a 0–0 home draw againstSheffield Wednesday.[31] On 18 February 2024, after his first 25 matches in Championship, Kamara had a successful passing rate of 93.5%.[32][33] Leeds finished 3rd in the Championship table and advanced to thepromotion play-off final, where they eventually fell short toSouthampton.
On 16 July 2024, Kamara joinedLigue 1 clubRennes[34] for a reported €10 million fee,[35][36] signing a deal until June 2028.[34] He made his official debut in Ligue 1 with his new club on 18 August 2024, in aseason opening game againstLyon, playing full 90 minutes and helping his side to a 3–0 home win.[37]
On 31 January 2025, Kamara was loaned out toSaudi Pro League clubAl Shabab, becoming the first Finnish player in the Saudi league.[38]
Kamara represented Finland atunder-19 andunder-21 level. He was an unused substitute for thesenior side in a friendly againstEstonia in June 2015.[39] On 9 November 2017, he made his debut in a 3–0 victory over the same country in a friendly match.[40] He scored his first international goal to conclude a 2–0 home win overGreece in theUEFA Nations League on 15 October 2018.[41]
Kamara was called up for Finland's first major tournament, the delayedUEFA Euro 2020 in June 2021.[42]
He played in all 10 games in Finland'sUEFA Euro 2024 qualification campaign, scoring once.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2015–16[43] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[44] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Southend United (loan) | 2015–16[43] | League One | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Colchester United (loan) | 2016–17[44] | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Dundee | 2017–18[45] | Scottish Premiership | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[46] | Scottish Premiership | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Total | 54 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 65 | 0 | ||||
| Rangers | 2018–19[47] | Scottish Premiership | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | |
| 2019–20[48] | Scottish Premiership | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 15[d] | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21[49] | Scottish Premiership | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13[d] | 1 | — | 51 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22[50] | Scottish Premiership | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15[d] | 1 | — | 52 | 4 | ||
| 2022–23[51] | Scottish Premiership | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[e] | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| Total | 118 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 51 | 2 | — | 193 | 9 | |||
| Leeds United | 2023–24[52] | Championship | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[f] | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| Rennes | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Al Shabab (loan) | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 238 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 51 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 332 | 9 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 65 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 October 2018 | Tampere Stadium, Tampere, Finland |  Greece | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C |
| 2 | 19 June 2023 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland |  San Marino | 1–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
Rangers
Individual
