Kei Ansu Kamara is a Sierra Leonean professional football player who rose from being a refugee from war-torn Sierra Leone to a professional footballer in the United States. He currently plays forward for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids with the jersey number “23”.
Kamara has been described as a fierce striker with apt aerial ability and firm athleticism in football. He also plays for his national team, Sierra Leone. Apart from being an extraordinary talented footballer, Kamara has been involved in some non-profit charity works to support his hometown and the people around him. His love for his family and country is second to none.
Kei Kamara’s Biography
Kamara was born on September 1, 1984, in the second-largest city in Sierra Leone, Kenema. He was raised in Kenema in a large family. During his childhood days, he would join his friends to play soccer on the streets.
Everything changed when he was still a child with the start of the civil war in Sierra Leone and he continued to live with the fear of being recruited as a child soldier. He revealed he saw everything from assassinations to the brutal beating of people, and many more in the war that lasted 11 years and cost the lives of over 50,000.
Fortunately for Kei Kamara, his family fled Sierra Leone during the civil war and first settled in the Gambia when he was 14. By the age of 16, the family got to make it to the United States through a refugee program in 2000.
They first arrived at Maryland before heading to settle with relatives in Hawthorne, California near Los Angeles. He graduated from Luezinger High School in 2003 and proceeded to California State University Dominguez Hills.
Personal Life- Wife and Kids
Kamara married Kristin Bocks Kamara in 2014. Although not so much is known about Kristen, we know that she has once worked for Sporting KC for close to a decade before she decided to become a stay at home mom to their kids.
The couple is blessed with three kids; Kierin Leone who was born in 2015, followed by Kendrick Kamaram, and then the youngest child is Kaelan Live Kamara. He was born on January 24, 2020.
He lives in Boston with his family and dog, Chelsea which he named after his favorite football team.
Professional career of Kamara
He began his career playing with Kallon FC (2001-2003) and played college soccer at California State University, Dominguez Hills (2004-2005). In his second year in college, he was named the third-team All-American. He began his senior career with Columbus crew when he was chosen at the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He spent two seasons with Columbus Crew, made 36 appearances and scored 5 goals.
He was traded to the San Jose earthquake before the 2008 season in exchange for Brian Carroll. He made 12 appearances and scored 2 goals after the season. He was traded to Houston Dynamo on July 24, 2008, in the 2009 MLS Super Draft.
Kei Kamara was traded to Sporting Kansas City on September 15, 2009, for Abe Thompson. While he was at Kansas City, he became one of the most imposing wingers in the league, he was later transferred to Norwich on loan during the 2012-2013 Premier League season. His impeccable performances made him Norwich fans’ favourite, some of his fans even composed songs for him. Unfortunately, his heroic moment was short-lived as he did not score any goal again in Norwich so he was returned to Sporting Kansas City.
Kamara was later signed for Middleborough on a two-year contract for a fee of 900,000 euros in September 2013. On 28 August 2014, that his contract with Middleborough had been terminated by mutual consent.
On 7 October 2014, Kamara officially signed for Columbus Crew FC and was supposed to begin in January 2015. While at Columbus, his efforts were quite impressive because he became the top scorer of the 2015 MLS season alongside Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto FC even though Giovinco won the golden boot because he provided more assists.
Kamara got suspended after he called out Federico Higuain in a public interview because of the argument the players had during a match that Kamara was finally getting his first hat trick in his career. He was traded to New England Revolution on May 12, 2016, a few days after his incidence with Higuain. On September 2, 2017, he got his first MLS hat trick against Orlando City in a 4-0 win. New England traded Kamara over to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. At the end of their 2018 season, his contract expired and he left the club.
The talented striker was selected by FC Cincinnati in the MLS Expansion Draft on 11 December 2018 and was traded to Colorado Rapids. Kamara scored his second hat trick in a 6-3 win against Montreal Impact on August 3, 2019. The hat trick was the second in his professional career and the ninth overall hat trick in Colorado Rapids.
Kamara served as captain for his national team, Sierra Leone, made 29 appearances and scored 5 goals before he was unfortunately retired from international duty in November 2019 because according to him, he was unhappy with some issues related to the team which he even blamed the coach( Sellas Tetteh) for it.
That was the second time he paused his international career. He also had several disagreements with the Sierra Leone football association that even led to suspensions from the national team.
The “Curse” of Kei Kamara
Despite being a fantastic player who has played with more than a decade teams and for more than 15 years, Kei Kamara has not recorded any major trophy to his name. He revealed that he feels he is probably cursed and may need to win something to know he is not under a curse.
Interestingly, he has come close to winning it a number of times. Just when he left Sporting Kansas City where he played from 2009 to 2013, the club won the MLS which they last won in 2000. Columbus Crew also won the MLS as soon as he left. Various other clubs he has played with have had the tendency of winning major trophies before his arrival or right after his departure.
That said, he is not the only major player to have failed to win a major title despite having personal recognition. More so, considering how much of a blessing he has become to so many, no one would not buy the idea that he is cursed.
Kei Kamara Net Worth
Kamara’s market value as of April 2020 was 475,000euro and his value so far has been in March 2016 which was 1million euros.
The player seems to have achieved his American dream as he grew from a refugee to a celebrated professional footballer who is worth almost $1million-$5million. Apart from being a professional player, he has other deals and endorsements which boost his net worth.
See Also: Top 5 Footballers Who Have Made The Highest Donations To Fight Coronavirus
Other Facts About Kamara
1. Kamara has a foundation that he started in 2012 called Kei Kamara heart-shaped hands foundation which helps support Sierra Leone children with scholarship and other school materials.
A man with a very big heart, Kei Kamara won the 2015 MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year, after he was a finalist for the same award in 2012 and was Sporting KC’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2011 and 2012.
He clinched the award for his Schools for Salone initiative which has built many schools and libraries in villages in his home country which were destroyed during the war. He linked up with his fellow countryman who was also a refugee and MLS star, Michael Lahoud, to build the Education for All Primary School. The initiative was to help disadvantaged kids in Allen Town, East End Freetown.
2. In 2006, he earned his U.S citizenship
3. He was named one of the three finalists for both the 2015 MLS Landon Donovan M VP award in November 2015 and was also given the 2015 Advocare MLS works, humanitarian of the year for his support for schools.
4. Kei Kamara believes he has what it takes to become an actor. He posted on his Instagram page how he would like to explore his acting skills.
5. The player is 6 feet 3 inches tall with a bodyweight of 75kg. His star sign is Virgo. He is active on his twitter handle(@keikamara) and Instagram(@2k3) than Facebook.
Complete profile of Kei Kamara
| Kei Kamara | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Kei Ansu Kamara |
| Date of Birth | 1 September 1984 |
| Age | 36 years |
| Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
| Nationality | Sierra Leone |
| Birth place | Kenema, Sierra Leone |
| Profession | Professional footballer |
| Playing position(s) | Striker (forward) |
| Club | 2004–2005 Orange County Blue Star 2006–2007 Columbus Crew 2008-San Jose Earthquakes 2008–2009 Houston Dynamo 2009–2013 Sporting Kansas City 2013- Norwich City (loan) 2013–2014 Middlesbrough 2015–2016 Columbus Crew 2016–2017-New England Revolution 2018-Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2019–2020 Colorado Rapids 2020-Minnesota United Sierra Leone national football team |
| Education | Luezinger Hgih School California State University |
| Father | NA |
| Mother | Fatima Kamara |
| Siblings | Brothers- Steven Kamara |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse/Partner | Kristin Kamara (m. 2014) |
| Girlfriend | NA |
| Kids | Kierin Leone |
| Religion | NA |
| Estimated Net Worth: | $1million-$5million |
| Source of net worth | Football Career |
| Height | 1.91 m(6 feet 3 in) |
| Weight | 75 kg |
| Eye color | Black |
| Hair color | Black |
| Social media | Twitter |
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