Pa Modou Kah (born 30 July 1980) is a Norwegian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former footballer who currently serves as an assistant coach with

Charlotte FC Charlotte FC is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise ...

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 ...

Club career

Vålerenga

Born in

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

, The Gambia, Kah and his family emigrated to Norway in 1988, when he was eight years old. He began his football career with

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

in 1998. At Vålerenga, Kah appeared in 94 league matches and scored 9 goals. In the 2001 season, his side won promotion and won the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

the year after.

AIK

In the mid-2003, he moved to Swedish club

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

as a part of the club's efforts for winning the championship. Kah was appreciated for his fighting spirit and ability to win the ball. Although his natural position was as a central midfielder, he had to play in various positions; he played several games at right-back. After the club was relegated the following season, Kah transferred to Dutch club

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. ...

, making nearly 200 league appearances. In the Netherlands Kah mainly played as central defender.

Al-Khor

In 2011, after seven years in the Netherlands, Kah moved to Qatari club

Al Khor Al Khor ( ar, الخور; also spelled ''Al Khawr''), officially Al Khor and Al Thakhira, is a municipality in coastal northeastern Qatar. Al Khor City, the municipal seat, is located in the northeast coast of Qatar, around from the capital, ...

Portland Timbers

After a brief period in Saudi Arabia with Al-Wehda, Kah moved to the United States on 3 May 2013 when he signed with

club

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

. On 8 December 2014, the Portland Timbers declined contract options on Kah.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

He was unsigned in the waivers draft and later claimed by

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

on 21 January 2015. In August 2016, he agreed to mutually terminate his contract with Vancouver Whitecaps' first team in favour of joining their USL team as a player-coach. On 21 February 2017 Kah announced his retirement and it was also confirmed, that he would continue working at the club as a Whitecaps FC staff coach.

Coaching career

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

added Kah to its technical staff as a member of the scouting staff in August 2018. In January 2019, the club announced that Kah's role would be changing, and he would now serve as an assistant coach. On 14 January 2020, Kah signed with

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

side

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 201 ...

as the club's new head coach. During the 2020 CPL season, Kah guided Pacific to their first play-off appearance, when they reached the second group stage of the Island Games before being eliminated. During the 2021 season, Kah guided Pacific to the

2021 Canadian Championship The 2021 Canadian Championship was the fourteenth edition of the Canadian Championship, contested from August 15 to November 21, 2021. The winners of the tournament, CF Montréal, were awarded the Voyageurs Cup and earned a berth in the 2022 CONC ...

semi-finals, defeating

and

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club, is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches at ...

before falling to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. In the

2021 Canadian Premier League Final The 2021 Canadian Premier League Final was a soccer match which determined the winner of the 2021 Canadian Premier League season. It was played on December 5, 2021, in Hamilton, Ontario, between Forge FC and Pacific FC. Those teams qualified as t ...

, Pacific defeated

Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...

1-0 at

Tim Hortons Field Tim Hortons Field, nicknamed "The Donut Box", is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Built as a replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium, Tim Hortons Field is primarily used for Canadian football and soccer, and is the home of the Ha ...

. For his efforts, Kah would be named the 2021 CPL Coach of the Year. On 21 January 2022, Kah was announced as the new head coach of

North Texas SC North Texas Soccer Club is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club FC Dallas. While the senior club i ...

. In January 2023, he joined

club

as an assistant coach.

Managerial statistics

Personal life

In 2005, he was involved in a car accident in Peer, Belgium. He was accompanied by his girlfriend, his cousin, and a friend. His car was rear-ended while stopped at a routine road check, immediately killing his girlfriend but only inflicting minor injuries to Kah. In

's next match, referee Bjorn Kuipers held a minute of silence to in honour of Kah's girlfriend. During the game,

Arouna Koné Arouna Koné (born 11 November 1983) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Belgian club VK Weerde. After making a name for himself in the Eredivisie, with Roda JC and PSV, he signed with Sevilla in 2007, where he ra ...

took his shirt off to reveal an undershirt which bore the inscription "''For Kah''". The referee showed Koné a yellow card, a decision the commentators criticized. Kuipers said afterwards that he had not seen the text on Koné's shirt. Kah speaks seven languages, including English, Norwegian, and some Spanish. Kah possesses a

US green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. Kah is the nephew of

Djimon Hounsou Djimon Gaston Hounsou (; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos. He made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990) and earned widespread recognition for his role as ...

Honours

Manager

Pacific FC *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kah, Pa Modou 1980 births Living people People from Banjul Gambian emigrants to Norway Norwegian footballers Norway international footballers AIK Fotboll players Vålerenga Fotball players Roda JC Kerkrade players Qatar SC players Al-Wehda Club (Mecca) players Portland Timbers players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Whitecaps FC 2 players Eredivisie players Eliteserien players Allsvenskan players Qatar Stars League players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Sweden Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate soccer players in the United States Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in Canada Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Norwegian expatriate football managers Association football defenders Saudi Professional League players Naturalised citizens of Norway Norwegian people of Gambian descent FC Cincinnati non-playing staff Pacific FC non-playing staff Canadian Premier League coaches