Kei Kamara

2006–2009: Early MLS career

Kamara was chosen by Columbus Crew in the first round, ninth overall, at the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He spent two seasons there, making 36 appearances and scoring five goals. Prior to the 2008 season, he was traded to San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for Brian Carroll. However, he spent only the 2008 season there, making 12 appearances and scoring two goals. On 24 July 2008, Kamara was traded to Houston Dynamo for a first-round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money. On 30 September 2008, Kamara scored two goals for MLS champion Houston Dynamo against Mexican club UNAM Pumas in a CONCACAF Champions League match.

Sporting Kansas City

On 15 September 2009, Kamara was traded to Sporting Kansas City for Abe Thompson and allocation money. Kamara had several productive seasons with Kansas City which saw him become one of the most imposing wingers in the league.

Loan to Norwich City

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. It was announced on 30 January 2013 that Kamara was signed on loan by Norwich for the remainder of the 2012–13 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,…

An international since 2008, Kamara was dropped from the national team set-up for "disciplinary reasons" in August 2019. He was recalled later that month. He retired from international duty in November 2019, blaming in part new manager Sellas Tetteh. Tetteh defended himself. 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 against Benin which qualified Sierra Leone for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, their first since 1996. On 21 April 2022, Kamara once again announced his retirement from international football. He 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.

Kamara was born and raised in Kenema, Sierra Leone's third-largest city. He 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. At one point, he hid in the jungle and even spent two years in a refugee camp in the Gambia. At age 16, Kamara and his family migrated to the United States through a refugee program, initially moving to Maryland, before settling with relatives in Hawthorne, California, near Los Angeles. He became an American citizen in 2006. He began his career playing for Kallon from 2001 to 2003. Kamara played college soccer at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where, in his second year, he was named third-team All-American. Kamara also spent two seasons with Orange County Blue Star in the USL Premier Development League.

Kamara earned his U.S. citizenship in 2006. He is married and has three children.