Well, let me introduce a resilient warrior who is straight out of fairy tale books. This warrior made his life out of violence and wars to normal life and finally leading to be an international footballer. Here I present, none other than Kei Kamara!
Currently, he represents Major League Soccer club Minnesota United. Additionally, Kamara is one of the best headers of the ball in the history of MLS.
Having said this, he is also one of those players to have scored 100 goals in MLS history.
Furthermore, Kamara stands fifth with his ranking on MLS’s all-time scoring list. Alongside seriousness, Kamara has that funny charm, enthusiasm, and all-around cheeriness.
“Sports just bring everyone together. It is that one thing that when it was happening, no matter what’s going on, everybody would be in that one place.”
-Kei Kamara
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Kei Ansu Kamara |
| Date of Birth | 1 September 1984 |
| Birth Place | Kenema, Sierra Leone |
| Nick Name | None |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Ethnicity | African |
| Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
| Age | 37 Years Old |
| Height | 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm) |
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lbs) |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Build | Athletic |
| Father’s Name | Not Available |
| Mother’s Name | Fatima Kamara |
| Siblings | Older brother, Steven Kamara |
| Education | Leuzinger High School California State University |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Kristin Bocks Kamara |
| Kids | Kierin Leone, Kendrick Kamara, Kaelan Live Kamara |
| Profession | Football player |
| Position | Forward |
| Affiliations | Orange County Blue Star Columbus Crew San Jose Earthquakes Houston Dynamo Sporting Kansas City Middlesbrough New England Revolution Vancouver Whitecaps FC Colorado Rapids Minnesota United |
| Active Years | 2004-present |
| Net Worth | $2.6 million |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
| Merch | Kei Kamara autographed trading Card |
| Last Update | July,2022 |
Kei Kamara | Childhood
Fatima Kamara gave birth to Kamara on September 1, 1984, under the Virgo sun sign. His full name is Kei Ansu Kamara. In addition, he was born in Kenema, Sierra Leone’s second-largest city.
Kamara’s narrative from his early years is similar to that of an action film. His mother moved to Los Angeles to help support the family after winning an immigration lottery in 1990 while he was still a youngster.
After she had moved him in with his aunt and cousins, Sierra Leone’s civil war between the army and rebels against the government began.
He was part of a large family, and his older brothers protected him while they alternately housed rebels and government soldiers for weeks.
After that, Kamara experienced everything a youngster shouldn’t know or see. In addition, for a child, he was all too familiar with terrors, dread, and death.
Additionally, he saw the execution of those who refused as well as the coerced recruitment of youngsters into war teams.
“I experienced that my entire childhood. It was quite frightful. I made an effort to comprehend the information I had heard about the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, but I was met with the reaction, “That’s not what I was taught as a Muslim.
Kéi Kamara
Life Continues after Mother’s Day Reunion
When he was 14 years old, Kamara and his family left Sierra Leone and migrated to the Gambia. He waited there for two years before his mother and he were ultimately reunited.
He initially relocated to Baltimore, where his uncle resided, and at the age of 16, as part of a refugee program, he came to Los Angeles.
After reuniting with his mother over ten years later, Kamara enrolled in California State University, Dominguez Hills as an American citizen.
According to Kamara, the youngsters there made fun of him because of his accent and stuttering voice. But once he started playing soccer and became a star, no one ever made fun of him again.
Throughout his college career, Kamara was a third-team All-American winner. In addition to that, he spent two seasons playing for the Orange County Blue Star in the USL Premier Development League.
Kei Kamara | Career in Club
After graduating from college, Kamara launched his club career. Columbus Crew, who took him ninth overall in the first round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, became his most notable team. He played in 36 games over the course of two seasons with the team.
Earthquakes in San Jose
The San Jose Earthquakes acquired Kamara in a trade for Brian Carroll in 2008. His tenure with the team, however, was brief, with only 12 games and two goals.
Texas Dynamo
He was traded once more to the Houston Dynamo that same year (2008), where his time there was similarly relatively brief.
Gamecocks of Kansas City
After being traded by Dynamo in 2009, Kamara played for Sporting Kansas City. His turning point came at this point.
He reportedly spent a significant amount of time playing for the squad, even distinguishing himself as one of the league’s most powerful wingers.
Later, he was loaned to English Premier League team Norwich City.
New York City
The visa grant that made Kamara a legal player came just after his first game for the club. To be more specific, he made his debut against Fulham in the 86th minute of a 0-0 tie. In the same way, he replaced teammate Wes Hoolahan in the 58th minute of his second game.
He also became a new football icon at the same time because several songs were written about him. The contract for his permanent transfer to the team is then rejected by Kamara.
Middlesbrough
He played with Sporting Kansas for a spell after his contract with Norwich expired. Then, for a cost of £900,000, he transferred to Middlesbrough of the Championship on a two-year deal.
He also made his first start in this game at Nottingham Forest, coming on as a replacement in the 63rd minute. He scored the team’s first goal at the same moment.
Following a few rounds of gameplay, they parted ways amicably.
Christopher Crew
Later, in 2014, he rejoined his old team, the Columbus Crew, and in 2015, he was added to the squad.
In addition, he was the team’s first postseason player, helping them win the Eastern Conference and place second. He was then tied with Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto FC for the league’s most goals scored.
And He reportedly also won the 2015 Advocare MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year Award and the 2015 MLS Landon Donovan MVP Award.
He also defeated the Montreal Impact and the New York Red Bulls. Kamara participated in the 2015 MLS Cup Final against the Portland Timbers despite being injured.
Massachusetts Revolution
Kei Kamara was traded to the New England Revolution on May 12 of that year, when he scored the opening goal against the New York Cosmos.
On September 2, 2017, he also achieved his first MLS hat trick with his squad.
Seattle Sounders FC
Kamara also joined the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on December 10, 2017, and scored his first goal there against the Montreal Impact.
Denver Rapids
Similar to this, on December 11, 2018, he joined the Colorado Rapids, where he scored his second hat-trick of his professional career.
Twin Cities United
On September 18, 2020, he joined Minnesota United, becoming him the first player in Major League Soccer history to score for eight different teams.
HIFK Soccer
On July 30, 2021, the professional football player committed to HIFK Fotboll in Finland.
Also Read Gregg Burke Career
Kei Kamara | Achievements and Statistics
Kei Kamara plays with enthusiasm and flamboyance as the team’s striker. The following is a list of some of his career’s noteworthy high points.
- MLS Fair Play Award: 2007
- Sierra Leonean Player of the Year: 2012
- MLS Joint Top-scorer: 2015 (22 goals, alongside Sebastian Giovinco)
- MLS All-Star: 2015
- 2015 MLS Works Humanitarian of the Year
- MLS Best XI: 2015
- MLS Cup Playoffs Top-scorer: 2015
Kei Kamara | Controversy
When you get into the spotlight, there is nothing that goes away. Even after years and years, the news is bound to circulate, and at times, things get controversial.
No matter what you meant or had done, it gets out of hand.
2016 Penalty Kick
On 7 May 2016, Kei Kamara got involved in a heated argument with Federico Higuain of Columbus Crew SC over who would take a penalty kick just after halftime.
Back then, Columbus Crew SC was leading the game by 3-1, and a goal again from the penalty would give them the insurance for the game’s victory.
However, both athletes had head over heels arguments about the penalty, which was ended after Higuain got the chance.
Altogether, the match ended as a 4-4 draw, and later in the talk with the press, Kamara openly discussed his opinion calling Higuain out.
“I haven’t really had to depend on Pipa [Higuain] at all. How long have I been here? How many goals have I scored? And how many have come from his assists? I don’t depend on him. How many times have me and [Higuain] connected?”
-Kei Kamara
Altogether, the incident was ended after head coach Gregg Berhalter chose to suspend Kei Kamara.
Thus, due to the internal conflicts between players bought huge trouble for the team as a whole. Therefore, within just five days of suspension, Kamara was traded to New England Revolution.
Net Worth
As of now, Kei Kamara is estimated to have a net worth of $2.6 million with an average annual salary of $587,232.
Additionally, Kamara is also the ambassador for the UK’s largest anti-racism educational organization.
Apparently, their charity combats racism through professional soccer players. Furthermore, alongside other athletes, Kamara also helps the foundation to restore the education system in Sierra Leone.
Not to mention, he has also opened the Kei Kamara-Michael Lahoud Education for All School in Allentown.
After years of fundraising, he managed to run that foundation, where he helps to thrive the education system.
Net Worth of Kei Kamara in Different Currencies
Here is the net worth of Kei Kamara in different currencies, including the Euro and Canadian Dollar
| Currency | Net Worth |
| Euro | €1,728,590 |
| Pound Sterling | £1,469,330 |
| Australian Dollar | A$2,736,590 |
| Canadian Dollar | C$2,514,250 |
| Indian Rupee | ₹149,459,500 |
| BitCoin | ฿37 |
Kei Kamara | Personal Life
To date, Kei Kamara has accomplished a lot. Overall, he is a fierce competitor, a loving father, a husband, a world-class humanitarian, and an entertainer.
To elaborate, Kamara built his cute family with his longtime girlfriend, Kristin Bocks Kamara. The due took vows in 2014 and has been closer than ever.
However, nothing is yet disclosed about Kamara’s wife except for the fact that she is from Kansas. However, it is known that she stays at home to take care of their children.
Together, the duo has created their own work of five. Not to mention their ever so famous pet, Chelsea. Moving on to their kids, they had their first one, Kierin Leone, in 2015.
Following it, they welcomed Kendrick Kamaram to the world, and lastly, Kaelan Live Kamara in 2020.
“She gets the best side of me, the soft side of me.”
-Kei Kamara
Black Lives Matter
Kei Kamara has always been outspoken and helping towards every cause he can. Additionally, he also joined hands to move into the Black Lives Matter protest and also stated that he regrets he hadn’t voted before.
With this, he encouraged his fans to vote and voted for the first time.
“I’m happy I came to my senses not too late. Now I’m able to do that, exercise my rights. Maybe if I would have voted, if how many of us who didn’t vote would have, things would be different.”
-Kei Kamara
Kei Kamara | Some Popular Quotes
- The Columbus Crew was a credit to everyone, we did well tonight, we knew they were going to press us. It was hard to get out of their press. We just kept pushing each other.
Social Media
| Instagram handle | @2k3 |
| Twitter handle | @keikamara |
| Instagram (Kristen) handle | @kab2241 |
| Instagram (Kamara babies) handle | @KamaraBabies |
Kei Kamara | FAQs
Why didn’t Kei Kamara claimed his goal against Sunderland in 2013?
According to Kei Kamara, the only reason not to claim his goal in 2013 against Sunderland was that it was St. Patrick Day.
Furthermore, he also had his plan for the celebration with his Irish teammate, Wes Hoolahan.
Who is Kei Kamara’s hero?
Kei Kamara’s hero is his elder brother, who passed away in ’08.
Which is the Current Club Kei is Affiliated With?
Currently, Kei is affiliated with HIFK Fotboll in 2021.
Has Kamara Won the Golden Boots?
The professional football player has won the Vancouver Whitecaps golden boots awards after finishing the club’s top scorer the season.
What is the Jersey Number of Kei?
Kei wears the jersey number of 2.