Alhaji Kamara

Alhaji Kamara

Personal information
Full name	Alhaji Kamara
Date of birth	16 April 1994
Place of birth	Freetown, Sierra Leone
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current team	D.C. United
Number	45
Youth career
	Belvic United
	FC Kallon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	FC Kallon	31	(13)
2012	→ Djurgårdens IF (loan)	5	(0)
2013	→ IK Frej (loan)	14	(2)
2013	→ IFK Värnamo (loan)	10	(6)
2014–2016	IFK Norrköping	40	(16)
2015	→ Johor Darul Takzim (loan)	4	(1)
2016–	D.C. United	8	(1)
National team^‡
2014–	Sierra Leone	7	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 November 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 September 2016

Alhaji Kamara (born 16 April 1994) is a Sierra Leonean footballer who plays for D.C. United as a forward.

Club career

He started his professional career at FC Kallon in the Sierra Leone National First Division. At a young age, he had trials with Tippeligaen club Fredrikstad FK and Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. Eventually he was signed by Swedish club Djurgårdens IF just after turning 18 years old.^[1]

Kamara failed to make an impact at Djurgårdens IF, and instead enjoyed loan spells to IK Frej and IFK Värnamo. Before the 2014 season, he was signed by IFK Norrköping, where he positioned himself as a key player during his first season. On 31 March 2015, Kamara was loaned out to Malaysia's Super League champion, Johor Darul Takzim FC (JDT) outfit from IFK Norrköping.^[2]

However, the loan was cancelled in July 2015.^[3] He returned to Norrköping, and featured fourteen times as the team won the league.

Kamara scored with his first touch in his debut for D.C. United just seconds after coming on against Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park. His goal was the difference, as United went on to win the match 1-0.

Congenital heart disease

In February 2016, it was reported that Kamara is suffering from a congenital heart disease, a deviation of the coronary arteries which potentially could result in sudden death at maximal cardiac effort. Kamara was effectively put on an indefinite restrain from playing football, effectively ending his professional career. However, he will remain contracted at Norrköping over the 2016 season as doctors are examining his condition's operability.^[4] In May 2016 it was revealed, after further testing from US-based doctors, that Kamara intended to continue his career in Major League Soccer club D.C. United where he would be allowed to play even with his heart condition since the American league doesn't follow FIFA and UEFA regulations.^[5]

Career statistics

As of 12 May 2016.^[6]

Club	Season	League		Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Djurgårdens IF	2012	5	0	1	0	—		6	0
	Total	5	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
IK Frej	2013	14	2	3	1	—		17	3
	Total	14	2	3	1	0	0	17	3
IFK Värnamo	2013	10	6	1	2	—		11	8
	Total	10	6	1	2	0	0	11	8
IFK Norrköping	2014	26	10	3	0	—		29	10
Johor Darul Takzim	2015	4	1	0	0	—		4	1
	Total	4	1	0	0	0	0	4	1
IFK Norrköping	2015	14	6	4	3	—		18	9
	2016	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	2
	Total	40	16	8	5	0	0	48	21
D.C. United	2016	1	1	0	0	—		1	1
	Total	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
Career total		74	26	13	8	0	0	87	34

Honours

IFK Norrköping

• Allsvenskan: 2015

References

1. "Kamanor och Kamara nya inslag i DIF". Djurgårdens IF. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
2. "Kamara lämnar – flyttar till Malaysia". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
3. IFK Norrköping. "Alhaji Kamara återvänder till Norrköping · IFK Norrköping". Retrieved 12 May 2016.
4. "Kamara stoppas av medfött hjärtfel". svt.se. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
5. "Kamara är på väg till MLS - efter hjärtfelet". Expressen. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
6. "Guillermo Molins". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 12 May 2016.

External links

• SvFF profile
• Alhaji Kamara at National-Football-Teams.com
• Elite Prospects profile