.jpg) Kamara withSierra Leone in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kei Ansiu Kamara | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-09-01)1 September 1984 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Kenema, Sierra Leone | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1] | ||
| Position | 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 | 19 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008– | Sierra Leone | 45 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 03:27, 19 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12 October 2025 | |||
Kei Ansu Kamara (/ˈkaɪkəˈmɑːrə/; born 1 September 1984) is a Sierra Leonean professionalfootballer who plays as astriker forMajor League Soccer clubFC Cincinnati and theSierra Leone national team. He is one of 13 players to havescored 100 goals in MLS history, achieving the landmark in 300 appearances. He is currently second on MLS's all-time scoring list, scoring for 11 different MLS clubs.[2][3]
Kamara was born and raised inKenema, Sierra Leone's third-largest city. He began playing football as a child, initially as a form ofescapism from theSierra Leone Civil War, in which he witnessed executions in his home city of Kenema, infiltrated early by rebels.[4] At one point, he hid in the jungle and even spent two years in a refugee camp inthe Gambia.[4] At age 16, Kamara and his family migrated to the United States through a refugee program, initially moving toMaryland,[5] before settling with relatives inHawthorne, California, near Los Angeles.[6] He became an American citizen in 2006.[7] He began his career playing forKallon F.C. from 2001 to 2003.[4]
Kamara playedcollege soccer atCalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills, where, in his second year, he was named third-team All-American.[8] Kamara also spent two seasons withOrange County Blue Star in theUSL Premier Development League.
Kamara was chosen byColumbus Crew in the first round, ninth overall, at the2006 MLS SuperDraft. He spent two seasons there, making 36 appearances and scoring five goals.
Prior to the 2008 season, he was traded toSan Jose Earthquakes in exchange forBrian Carroll.[9] However, he spent only the2008 season there, making 12 appearances and scoring two goals.
On 24 July 2008, Kamara was traded toHouston Dynamo for a first-round pick in the2009 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money.[10] On 30 September 2008, Kamara scored two goals for MLS champion Houston Dynamo against Mexican clubUNAM Pumas in aCONCACAF Champions League match.
On 15 September 2009, Kamara was traded toSporting Kansas City forAbe Thompson and allocation money.[11] Kamara had several productive seasons with Kansas City which saw him become one of the most imposing wingers in the league.[12]
Kamara was a transfer target ofNorwich City of the EnglishPremier League during the winter 2013 transfer window,[13] following an unsuccessful trial atStoke City earlier in the off-season.[14] It was announced on 30 January 2013 that Kamara was signed on loan by Norwich for the remainder of the2012–13 Premier League season. Norwich had the option for a pre-negotiated permanent transfer or to return Kamara to Sporting at the end of the season, in which case Kamara would miss the first 10 matches of the MLS season. As part of the deal, Kamara's contract with Major League Soccer was extended.[14] Norwich City announced on 5 February that Kamara was granted a visa, making him legally eligible to play for the club.[15] He made his league debut for Norwich as an 86th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw withFulham four days later. On the next matchday, 23 February, he came on as a 58th-minute substitute, and 19 minutes later, scored his first goal for Norwich, equalising 1–1 againstEverton with a powerful header atCarrow Road, in an eventual 2–1 victory.[16][17]
Kamara did not score any more in a Norwich shirt and Norwich declined the option of taking him on a permanent transfer. On 4 May 2013, Norwich City confirmed the loan deal had ended and he would be returning to Sporting Kansas City immediately.[18]
On 2 September 2013, it was confirmed that Kamara had signed forMiddlesbrough of theChampionship on a two-year contract for a fee of £900,000.[19][20] He made his debut for the club twelve days later, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute in a 1–3 loss toIpswich Town.[21] On 17 September, Kamara made his first start and scored his first goal for Boro in a 2–2 draw atNottingham Forest.[22] He followed up his first goal against Forest by scoring on his home debut, a 3–3 draw againstAFC Bournemouth four days later.[23] He then scored on 5 October in a 4–1 win at home toYeovil Town, and twenty days later in a 4–0 home win at overDoncaster Rovers. On 28 August 2014, it was announced that Middlesbrough had parted company with Kamara as his contract had been cancelled by mutual consent.[24]
After parting ways with Middlesbrough, Kamara had a successful trial with recently promoted Championship sideWolverhampton Wanderers. However, his work permit renewal application was declined after Sierra Leone fell to 75th place in theFIFA World Rankings and Wolverhampton shifted its focus to signingYannick Sagbo instead.[25]
In late August 2014, it was revealed that Kamara could return to MLS but would have to go through the league's allocation ranking system since Kansas City received a transfer fee for the player.[26] At the time, the No. 1 spot in the allocation ranking was held byColumbus Crew SC, the club which initially drafted Kamara in 2006. On 7 October 2014, it was confirmed that Kamara had signed for Columbus and would officially be added to the roster on 1 January 2015.[27] Because he was released by Middlesbrough after the 2014 MLS roster freeze, he would not be able to appear for the Crew until the2015 Major League Soccer season.
The following season, Kamara helped the Crew to the play-offs by finishing second in the Eastern Conference, and finished the2015 MLS season as the joint top-scorer of the league, alongsideToronto FC'sSebastian Giovinco, with 22 goals in 33 games, although the latter claimed theMLS Golden Boot due to having provided more assists throughout the season (16 compared to Kamara's 8).[28] In November 2015, he was named one of the three finalists for both the 2015 MLSLandon Donovan MVP Award and the 2015Advocare MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year Award;[29] he was awarded the MLS Humanitarian of the Year Award on 5 November,[30] although he missed out on the MVP Award, which went to Giovinco.[31] On 8 November, he scored two goals in a 3–1 win overMontreal Impact in the Eastern Conference semi-finals of theMLS Playoffs, including the decisive goal inextra-time, which allowed Columbus Crew to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.[32] On 22 November, he scored in the first leg of the 2015 MLS Playoff Eastern Conference Finals, a 2–0 win over theNew York Red Bulls,[33] which allowed Columbus to claim the 2015 Eastern Conference Championship 2–1 on aggregate and advance to the MLS Cup Final.[34] Due to an injury sustained in training, however, it was initially uncertain whether Kamara would be able to feature in the2015 MLS Cup Final against thePortland Timbers;[35] nevertheless, he played all 90 minutes of the match, scoring the only goal for Columbus in a 2–1 defeat.[36] With 4 goals, Kamara was thetop-goalscorer in the 2015 MLS Playoffs, bringing his total seasonal tally to 26 goals[35] although he missed out on the MLS Cup MVP Award, which went to Portland'sDiego Valeri.[37]
After being signed to aDesignated Player contract, Columbus got off to a rough start in the2016 season. Kamara scored five goals in his first nine games including a brace against Montreal on 7 May 2016 where Columbus had the lead. An argument arose betweenFederico Higuaín and Kamara over a penalty kick, with Kei potentially getting his first hat trick in his career; however, Higuaín wanted to take it himself. The game ended in a 4–4 draw. After the game, Kamara publicly called Higuaín out in an interview after the game.[38] As a result, he was suspended by managerGregg Berhalter for the next game.
On 12 May 2016, just five days after the penalty kick incident with Higuaín, Kamara was traded toNew England Revolution in a blockbuster deal which saw Columbus receive a first-round pick in the2017 MLS SuperDraft, a second-round pick in the2018 MLS SuperDraft, aninternational roster slot for the 2016 season, general allocation money, targeted allocation money, and a percentage of any fee received should New England transfer Kamara to a club outside of MLS.[39]
Kamara made his debut for Revolution on 14 May 2016, in a 2–0 victory over theChicago Fire.[40] He scored his first goal for New England in a 2–1 win over the New York Cosmos in the2016 U.S. Open Cup round of 16 on 29 June.[41][42] He scored his first goal for the club in MLS play on 2 July, part of a brace in a 3–2 loss to the Montreal Impact.[43] His first goal in the match was the 80th of his career, making him only the 16th player in MLS history to record 80 goals.[43] Kamara concluded the2016 season with 12 goals.[44]
On 2 September 2017, Kamara scored his first MLS hat-trick againstOrlando City in a 4–0 win.[45] His first goal in the match was the 100th of his career, making him only the 12th player in MLS history to record 100 goals.[46] He was named MLS Player of the Week for week 26.[40] Kamara led the Revolution in scoring in the2017 season, winning the club's golden boot with 12 goals and 5 assists.[40]
On 10 December 2017, Kamara was traded by New England toVancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for a first-round selection in the2019 MLS SuperDraft and a conditional second-round selection in the2020 MLS SuperDraft.[47] He scored on his debut on 4 March againstMontreal Impact in a 2–1 win.[48] Kamara left Vancouver at the end of their 2018 season when his contract expired.[49]
On 11 December 2018, Kamara was selected byFC Cincinnati in the2018 MLS Expansion Draft and immediately traded toColorado Rapids in exchange for aninternational roster slot for the 2019 season.[50]
On 3 August 2019, Kamara scored the second hat-trick of his professional career in a 6–3 win overMontreal Impact, which saw him reach 11 league goals for the season, the most for a Rapids player sinceOmar Cummings in 2010.[51]
On 18 September 2020, Colorado traded Kamara toMinnesota United for allocation money and a 2022 second-roundMLS SuperDraft pick.[52] On 3 October 2020, he scored a penalty kick againstFC Cincinnati, becoming the first MLS player to score for eight different teams; no one else has scored for more than six.[53]
On 30 July 2021, Kamara signed withHIFK Fotboll in Finland through the end of the 2021 season, with an option for the 2022 season.[54]
In February 2022, Kamara returned to North America, joiningCF Montréal on a one-year deal, with an option for 2023.[55] He made his debut for his new club on 23 February againstSantos Laguna ofLiga MX in a2022 CONCACAF Champions League match.[56] On 2 April, Kamara scored his first goal for the club against FC Cincinnati, becoming the first MLS player to score for nine different teams, and also added a further two assists to help his side to a 4–3 win.[57] On 20 August, Kamara scored his 135th MLS goal in a 4–0 win over New England Revolution, thus overtakingJeff Cunningham as the third-highest scorer in MLS history; this was also his 11th career goal against the Revolution, becoming the club against which he has scored the most career goals.[58] On 13 September, he scored a first-half brace against Chicago Fire, becoming his biggest victim (12 goals).[59]
Kamara was traded to the Chicago Fire prior to the 2023 season. He was unhappy with CF Montreal's contract offer and had previously requested a trade.[60] On 25 March, in his third appearance with the team, Kamara scored a late goal against Inter Miami to seal a 3–2 win, thus becoming the first player to score for 10 clubs in the MLS as well as the first player in MLS history to score in 16 different seasons.[61] On 8 April, he scored a first-half brace against his former teamMinnesota United FC to help his side to a 2–1 win, thus ending the Loon's 5-match unbeaten start.[62] On 27 July, he scored another late winner from the bench, this time in hisLeagues Cup debut against Minnesota United.[63]
On 29 March 2024, Kamara signed withLos Angeles FC for the 2024 season with a club option for 2025.[64] In doing so, he became the oldest active player in the U.S. top flight, being only eight days older thanBrad Guzan.[4] On 8 May, Kamara scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win overLas Vegas Lights in the fourth round of the2024 U.S. Open Cup, making him the only player to have scored for 11 different MLS teams during his career in the United States.[4][65] On 19 June, Kamara scored his first MLS goal for the club to salvage a 1–1 draw with Austin FC. This was also his 145th MLS goal, tying withLandon Donovan for the second-most goals in MLS history.[66] In the following match on 22 June, he scored his 146th MLS goal against San Jose Earthquakes to pass Donovan as the second-highest goalscorer in league history, only behindChris Wondolowski (171).[67] On 4 July, he opened the scoring against La Galaxy in an eventual 2–1 win at theRose Bowl, and in doing so at the age of 39 years and 10 months, he became the oldest scorer inEl Tráfico history.[68]
Despite his advanced age, Kamara was one of thetop scorers of the2024 Leagues Cup with three goals, including one in both the quarterfinals and the semifinals. Thus, he contributed decisively to helping Los Angeles reach the Leagues Cup Final for the first time in its history, which they lost 3–1 to Columbus Crew.[69] On 25 September, Kamara came off the bench in the2024 U.S. Open Cup final against his former club Sporting Kansas City, for whom he had won his only Open Cup title in 2012. He scored a header in extra-time to seal a 3–1 win, and in doing so, at the age of 40 years and 24 days, he became both the oldest player and the oldest scorer in an Open Cup final since the inception of MLS in 1996.[70]
On 12 May 2025,FC Cincinnati announced Kamara's signing as a free agent to a contract through the 2025 season, with an option to extended it for another season.[71] He thus became the oldest player of the squad by eight full years, sitting closer in age to coachChris Albright (46) than to any of his teammates.[72] On 14 May, he made his first appearance for the club, coming on as a substitute againstToronto FC.[73]
An international since 2008, Kamara was dropped from the national team set-up for "disciplinary reasons" in August 2019.[74] He was recalled later that month.[75] He retired from international duty in November 2019, blaming in part new managerSellas Tetteh.[76] Tetteh defended himself.[77] Kamara later returned to the national team set-up and on 12 June 2021 Kamara scored the only goal for Sierra Leone in a victory againstBenin which qualified Sierra Leone for the2021 Africa Cup of Nations, their first since1996.[78]
On 21 April 2022, Kamara once again announced his retirement from international football.[79] He came out of retirement for a second time in November 2024 at the age of 40 to play againstChad in Sierra Leone's penultimate2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game.[80]
Kamara earned his U.S. citizenship in 2006. He is married and has three children.[81]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Orange County Blue Star | 2004[86] | PDL | 5 | 4 | — | — | 1[b] | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 2005[87] | PDL | 14 | 12 | — | 14 | 12 | ||||||
| Total | 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 17 | ||
| Columbus Crew | 2006 | MLS | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| 2007 | MLS | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 2 | |||
| Total | 36 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 5 | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2008 | MLS | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||
| Houston Dynamo | 2008 | MLS | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7[c] | 2 | 2[d] | 1 | 19 | 5 |
| 2009 | MLS | 22 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3[e] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 6 | |
| Total | 32 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 11 | ||
| Kansas City Wizards/Sporting Kansas City | 2009 | MLS | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | |
| 2010 | MLS | 29 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 10 | |||
| 2011 | MLS | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | 3[d] | 0 | 35 | 10 | ||
| 2012 | MLS | 33 | 11 | 2 | 1 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 37 | 12 | ||
| 2013 | MLS | 15 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 | |
| Total | 113 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 124 | 41 | ||
| Norwich City (loan) | 2012–13 | Premier League | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2013–14 | Championship | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 4 | ||
| Columbus Crew | 2015 | MLS | 32 | 22 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 4 | 37 | 26 | |
| 2016 | MLS | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 5 | |||
| Total | 41 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 46 | 31 | ||
| New England Revolution | 2016 | MLS | 21 | 7 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 26 | 9 | ||
| 2017 | MLS | 31 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 12 | |||
| Total | 52 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 21 | ||
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2018 | MLS | 28 | 14 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 31 | 17 | ||
| Colorado Rapids | 2019 | MLS | 29 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 14 | ||
| 2020 | MLS | 9[f] | 3 | — | — | — | 9 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 38 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 17 | ||
| Minnesota United FC | 2020 | MLS | 7 | 1 | — | — | 2[d] | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
| HIFK | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 5 | ||
| CF Montréal | 2022 | MLS | 32 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 39 | 9 |
| Chicago Fire FC | 2023 | MLS | 27 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[g] | 1 | 31 | 6 | |
| Los Angeles FC | 2024 | MLS | 27 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | 9[h] | 3 | 40 | 8 | |
| FC Cincinnati | 2025 | MLS | 19 | 0 | — | — | 3[i] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 533 | 173 | 30 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 30 | 10 | 606 | 196 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Leone | 2008 | 5 | 0 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 45 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 June 2012 | National Stadium,Freetown, Sierra Leone |  São Tomé and Príncipe | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 3–1 | |||||
| 3 | 6 September 2014 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny,Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4 | 3 September 2016 | Stade Bouaké,Bouaké, Ivory Coast | Ivory Coast | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 8 September 2019 | National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone |  Liberia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 15 June 2021 | Stade du 28 Septembre,Conakry, Guinea |  Benin | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 7 | 9 October 2021 | Stade El Abdi,El Jadida, Morocco |  Gambia | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 4 September 2025 | Estádio 24 de Setembro,Bissau, Guinea-Bissau |  Guinea-Bissau | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Sporting Kansas City[89]
Columbus Crew[90]
Los Angeles FC
Individual
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