1. Kei Ansu Kamara is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer who plays as a striker.
40 Facts About Kei Kamara
1. 2.
Kei Kamara is one of 13 players to have scored 100 goals in MLS history, achieving the landmark in 300 appearances.
3.
Kei Kamara is currently second on MLS's all-time scoring list, scoring for 11 different MLS clubs.
4.
Kei Kamara began playing football as a child, initially as a form of escapism from the Sierra Leone Civil War, in which he witnessed executions in his home city of Kenema, infiltrated early by rebels.
5.
Kei Kamara began his career playing for Kallon FC from 2001 to 2003.
6.
Kei Kamara played college soccer at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where, in his second year, he was named third-team All-American.
7.
Kei Kamara spent two seasons with Orange County Blue Star in the USL Premier Development League.
Related searches
Sellas Tetteh 8.
Kei Kamara was chosen by Columbus Crew in the first round ninth overall at the 2006 MLS SuperDraft.
9.
Kei Kamara spent two seasons there, making 36 appearances and scoring 5 goals.
10.
On 24 July 2008, Kei Kamara was traded to Houston Dynamo for a first-round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money.
11.
On 30 September 2008, Kei Kamara scored two goals for MLS champion Houston Dynamo against Mexican club UNAM Pumas in a CONCACAF Champions League match.
12.
On 15 September 2009, Kei Kamara was traded to Sporting Kansas City for Abe Thompson and allocation money.
13.
Kei Kamara had several productive seasons with Kansas City which saw him become one of the most imposing wingers in the league.
14.
Kei Kamara was a transfer target of Norwich City of the English Premier League during the winter 2013 transfer window, following an unsuccessful trial at Stoke City earlier in the off-season.
15.
Norwich had the option for a pre-negotiated permanent transfer or to return Kei Kamara to Sporting at the end of the season, in which case Kei Kamara would miss the first 10 matches of the MLS season.
16.
Kei Kamara later claimed the only reason he did not claim the goal as his own was that it was St Patrick's Day, and he and Irishman Hoolahan had an Irish dance celebration planned.
17.
Kei Kamara quickly became a fan favourite of the Norwich support for his enthusiastic and flamboyant style of play, with some fans composing songs to recognise their new-found hero.
18.
On 7 October 2014 it was confirmed that Kei Kamara had signed for Columbus and would officially be added to the roster 1 January 2015.
19.
Kei Kamara scored five goals in his first nine games including a brace against Montreal on 7 May 2016 where Columbus had the lead.
20.
An argument arose between Federico Higuain and Kamara over a penalty kick, with Kei potentially getting his first hat trick in his career; however, Higuain wanted to take it himself.
21.
On 12 May 2016, just five days after the penalty kick incident with Higuain, Kei Kamara was traded to New England Revolution in a blockbuster deal which saw Columbus receive a first-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, a second-round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, an international roster slot for the 2016 season, general allocation money, targeted allocation money, and a percentage of any fee received should New England transfer Kei Kamara to a club outside of MLS.
22.
Kei Kamara concluded the 2016 season with 12 goals, tied for 11th in the league.
23.
Kei Kamara was named MLS Player of the Week for week 26.
24.
Kei Kamara led the Revolution in scoring in the 2017 season, winning the club's golden boot with 12 goals and 5 assists, tied for 19th in the league in scoring.
25.
On 10 December 2017, Kei Kamara was traded by New England to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for a first-round selection in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft and a conditional second-round selection in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.
Related searches
Sellas Tetteh 26.
Kei Kamara left Vancouver at the end of their 2018 season when his contract expired.
27.
On 11 December 2018, Kei Kamara was selected by FC Cincinnati in the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft and immediately traded to Colorado Rapids in exchange for an international roster slot for the 2019 season.
28.
Kei Kamara scored a penalty kick against FC Cincinnati on 3 October 2020, becoming the first MLS player to score for eight different teams; no one else has scored for more than six.
29.
On 30 July 2021, Kei Kamara signed with HIFK Fotboll in Finland through the end of the 2021 season, with an option for the 2022 season.
30.
In February 2022, Kei Kamara returned to North America, joining CF Montreal on a one-year deal, with an option for 2023.
31.
Kei Kamara made his debut for his new club on 23 February against Santos Laguna of Liga MX in a 2022 CONCACAF Champions League match.
32.
Kei Kamara was traded to the Chicago Fire prior to the 2023 season.
33.
Kei Kamara was unhappy with CF Montreal's contract offer and had previously requested a trade.
34.
On 29 March 2024, Kei Kamara signed with Los Angeles FC for the 2024 season with a club option for 2025.
35.
On 25 September, Kei Kamara came off the bench in the 2024 US Open Cup final against his former club Sporting Kansas City, for whom he had won his only Open Cup title in 2012.
36.
An international since 2008, Kei Kamara was dropped from the national team set-up for "disciplinary reasons" in August 2019.
37.
Kei Kamara retired from international duty in November 2019, blaming in part new manager Sellas Tetteh.
38.
Kei Kamara later returned to the national team set-up and on 12 June 2021 Kei Kamara scored the only goal for Sierra Leone in a victory against Benin which qualified Sierra Leone for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, their first since 1996.
39.
On 21 April 2022, Kei Kamara announced his retirement from international football.
40.
Kei Kamara came out of retirement for a second time in November 2024 at the age of 40 to play against Chad in Sierra Leone's penultimate 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game.