Karim Kerkar (born 3 January 1977 in ) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who currently plays for

Ajman Club Ajman Club (Arabic: نادي عجمان‎) is an Emirati football club based in Ajman. In 2015, Ajman was relegated to the second division, but managed to climb back to the top flight in 2017. Honours The club has gained the following honours: ...

in the

UAE Football League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al O ...

. Born in

Givors Givors (; frp, Givôrs) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Location It lies at the confluence of the Rhone and the Gier about south of Lyon and on the main road between that city and Sain ...

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

, France, he represented

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

at international level.

Personal

Kerkar was born to a family of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n immigrants in the town of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He is the older brother of Charlton Athletic midfielder Salim Kerkar and

US Possession Union Sportive de La Possession, was a football (soccer), football club from La Possession, Réunion Island, which merged 2008 with AJS Possession to form AS Possession. The club in the French football structure *French Cup : 1 appearance :: 1993 ...

forward Farid Kerkar.

Career

French-born Kerkar, who represented

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

at international level, started his career with

Gueugnon Gueugnon () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Population Economy The primary industry in the town is a stainless-steel factory run by Aperam. A huge part of Gueugnon ...

before spending three years with

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

. In 2002, Kerkar tried his luck with

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

but failed to play in a three-month spell and moved to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

club Al-Siliya. Kerkar came back to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 2004, spending a month with Scottish side

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, where his performances won him a short-term move to

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. At the end of 2004, Kerkar decided to pursue his career elsewhere and moved to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

with

Dubai Club Dubai Cultural Sports Club () was a football club based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. In 2017 merged with Al Shabab to join Al-Ahli to rebrand the club into Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai FC. History The club was relegated in 2007 to the UAE ...

before moving on quickly to Al-Wahda. Kerkar spent two weeks with St Mirren in September 2007 and subsequently agreed a contract, only to renege on it twenty-four hours later, causing manager

Gus MacPherson Angus Ian MacPherson (born 11 October 1968) is a Scottish football former player and coach. MacPherson's playing career saw spells at Rangers, Exeter City, Kilmarnock, Dunfermline Athletic and St Mirren. His management career began at his f ...

to announce he was "frustrated and disappointed". MacPherson advised Kerkar had been made clear as to the club's feelings regarding the matter, with the manager's misery compounded when St Mirren were beaten 2-0 the following day by

- Kerkar's last Scottish club. Kerkar had been on trial with St Johnstone the month previously and also went back on his word to sign. Kerkar returned to former club

in early 2008. On 14 June 2011 Kerkar signed a one-year contract with

. On 16 October 2011 he made his league debut for the club, in the first week of the 2011-12 UAE Football League season.Ajman vs. Bani Yas - 16 October 2011
Soccerway.com, October 19, 2011.

Honours

Emirates Club Emirates Club ( ar, نادي الإمارات) is a professional football club based in the city of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. They play in the UAE Pro League after being promoted from the UAE First Division League. They play their h ...

UAE President Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifies for the AFC Champions League. His ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

UAE Super Cup The UAE Super Cup ( ar, كأس السوبر الإماراتي), is the curtain raiser of the United Arab Emirates football season. It is played between the previous season's Pro-League winners and President's Cup Winners. The first edition was p ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerkar, Karim 1977 births Living people People from Givors Sportspeople from Lyon Metropolis French sportspeople of Algerian descent Algeria international footballers Algerian footballers Algerian expatriate footballers French footballers FC Gueugnon players Le Havre AC players Manchester City F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Al Dhafra FC players Dubai CSC players Fujairah FC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players Expatriate footballers in England Algerian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Algerian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Qatar Al-Sailiya SC players Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Emirates Club players Ajman Club players Al Dhaid SC players Qatar Stars League players UAE First Division League players UAE Pro League players Association football midfielders Footballers from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland