Mamadi Camara (born February 25, 1995) is a Guinean 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 lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Early life

Camara was born in

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, before moving to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in Canada aged four-years old. He is a dual Guinean and Canadian national. Camara played four seasons of university soccer at

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

in the

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but a ...

between 2015 and 2018, where he made 69 appearances, scoring 29 goals and tallying 20 assists. Over his four years for SFU, he was named to the GNAC first all-star team each year, the All-West team in his final three years, and GNAC player of the year in his senior season.

Club career

While at university, Camara played in the

Première Ligue de soccer du Québec A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

with

CS Longueuil Club Soccer Longueuil is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Longueuil, Quebec. Since 2014, the club has competed in Ligue1 Québec. History The club was originally founded in 1970. In 2014, the club joined the Première Ligue de ...

in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, during his summer break, he was invited to train with

Whitecaps FC 2 Whitecaps FC 2 is a professional association football, soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the reserve team of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer. History Prior to the MLS Next Pro iteratio ...

, the second team of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

. In 2017, he joined

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will feature ...

club

TSS FC Rovers TSS FC Rovers, commonly referred to as TSS Rovers, are a Canadian soccer team based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada that play in League1 British Columbia, the third tier of soccer in Canada. Established for the 2017 PDL season by general m ...

and then in the following year, he joined Calgary Foothills. In 2019, he played with PLSQ club

CS St-Hubert Club de Soccer Spatial de St-Hubert is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, that plays in Ligue1 Québec. History The club was originally formed in 1980. Prior to joining the PLSQ, the club played in the Lig ...

. Afterwards, he returned to B.C., and joined amateur side Surrey Central City Breakers FC, helping them win the 2019

Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy () is the trophy presented to Canada's men's amateur soccer champions as part of Canada Soccer's annual National Championships. The men's competition was created with the inauguration of the Dominion of Canada Football As ...

as national champions. Prior to 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 ...

, Camara was one of six Canadians, and the only

player, invited to the

MLS Combine The Major League Soccer Player Combine was a four-day annual showcase, that occurred every January until its discontinuation in 2020. Format The present Player Combine features four teams composed of invitees, usually who play on youth nation ...

. On January 11, 2019, Camara was selected 46th overall in the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. He became the first player who played in the PLSQ to be drafted into the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

. However, he did not sign with the club. On December 17, 2019, Camara joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

side

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The fra ...

ahead of their 2020 season. He scored his first professional goal on September 16 against

El Paso Locomotive El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History First season In February 2018, the United Soccer League announced that El P ...

. In 2021, he returned to the semi-professional PLSQ with

Celtix du Haut-Richelieu Celtix du Haut-Richelieu is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec that plays in Ligue1 Québec in the third tier of Canadian soccer, since 2020. History The club was originally formed in 1969, with ...

, where he scored 11 goals in 10 matches. He was leading the league in scoring with 11 goals in 10 matches, at the time he departed the club for a professional opportunity. On September 1, 2021, he signed with

HFX Wanderers FC Halifax Wanderers FC, also written as HFX Wanderers FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) at the top of the Canadian soccer league syste ...

of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

for the remainder of the 2021 season. In his second appearance, on September 6 against

York United FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

, he was nearly credited with his first goal, after his header hit the crossbar then deflected off a defender into the goal, ultimately being ruled an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

. He scored his first CPL goal on October 3 against York. He departed the club at the end of the season. In February 2022, Camara signed with

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

Career statistics

References

External links

Camara's profile
on SwitchbacksFC.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Camara, Mamadi 1995 births Living people Men's association football forwards Guinean men's footballers 21st-century Guinean sportsmen Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Montreal Guinean emigrants to Canada Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Guinean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Guinean expatriate sportspeople in the United States CS Longueuil players Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's soccer players TSS FC Rovers players Calgary Foothills FC players CS St-Hubert players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players Celtix du Haut-Richelieu players HFX Wanderers FC players FC Edmonton players USL League Two players USL Championship players Ligue1 Québec players Canadian Premier League players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen