Mohammed Kesselly "Keka" Kamara (born 31 October 1997) is a Liberian 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 plays for

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

club CFR Cluj and the Liberia national team.

Career

College and amateur

Tyler Junior College

Kamara moved to the United States to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Tyler Junior College Tyler Junior College (TJC) is a public community college in Tyler, Texas. It is one of the largest community colleges in Texas, with an enrollment of more than 12,500 credit students each year with an additional 20,000 continuing education enroll ...

in 2016. During his two years at Tyler, Kamara scored 70 goals and tallied ten assists in just 44 games. He finished the 2017 season as the NJCAA player of the year after scoring a school record-breaking and NJCAA-leading 48 goals, which included 14 game-winners.

UCLA

In 2018, Kamara transferred to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he made 14 appearances, scored five goals, and tallied a single assist.

Atlanta Silverbacks

During his time at college, Kamara also appeared for

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

side

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

, where he scored nine goals in 14 appearances.

Professional

SC Paderborn 07

Kamara was considered a strong candidate to sign a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

deal with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, which would see him enter the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

. However, he opted to move to Europe, signing with

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

side

SC Paderborn Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...

on 5 January 2019. During his time at Paderborn, Kamara failed to make a single first team appearance, but did score eight goals in seven appearances for Paderborn's 5th-tier second team who competed in the Oberliga Westfalen. In June 2019, Kamara and Paderborn mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the club.

LA Galaxy II

On 2 August 2019, Kamara signed for USL Championship side LA Galaxy II. He made his professional debut on 11 August 2019, as an 84th-minute substitute during a 3–1 win over Austin Bold.

Menemenspor

On 1 October 2020, Kamara moved to Turkish

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

side Menemenspor.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Liberia's goal tally first.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamara, Mohammed 1997 births Living people Men's association football forwards Liberian men's footballers Liberia men's international footballers Tyler Apaches men's soccer players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Atlanta Silverbacks FC players SC Paderborn 07 players Ventura County FC players Hatayspor footballers Hapoel Haifa F.C. players CFR Cluj players National Premier Soccer League players USL Championship players Israeli Premier League players Liga I players Liberian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Liberian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Romania