MONTREAL – CF Montréal announced Friday the signing of forward Kei Kamara who agreed to a one-year contract through 2022 with an option year in 2023.
“In the absence of numerous attacking options through either injury or illness, namely that of young forward Ivy Brisma who had a strong preseason training camp, we had to take measures to strengthen the roster,” said CF Montréal Sporting Director Olivier Renard. “Kei is a highly experienced player in MLS whose offensive abilities will help us both on the pitch and in the locker-room with our young group of players. We’re happy to welcome him to the Club.”
A veteran of 15 seasons in MLS, Kamara has played a total of 359 regular season matches, earning 299 starts and accruing 27,117 minutes of game time. In that period, he scored 130 goals and collected 47 assists. As the fifth-best goal scorer in MLS history, Kamara is one of 10 players in the league to have found the back of the net over 100 times.
Following a first-round draft pick selection by the Columbus Crew (ninth overall) in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, Kamara spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons with the Ohio club. He also played with the San Jose Earthquakes and the Houston Dynamo FC in 2008 and 2009, and Sporting Kansas City from 2009 to 2013, before rejoining the Crew for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He then played for the New England Revolution in 2016 and 2017, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in 2018, the Colorado Rapids in 2019 and 2020, and lastly with Minnesota United FC in 2020.
In the winter of 2013, Kamara was also loaned to English club Norwich City of the Premier League and later signed with Middlesborough, scoring four goals in 25 matches in the English second division. Most recently, he returned to Europe for a spell with Finnish club HIFK last summer where he collected five goals in 14 games, all as a starter.
At the international level, Kamara has earned 39 caps with Sierra Leone from 2010 to 2022. He most recently featured for his country in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, featuring in all three group stage matches against Algeria, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea. On June 12, 2021, he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Benin, securing Sierra Leone’s qualification to the tournament for the first time since 1996.
KEI KAMARA
Position : Forward
Height : 6’3
Weight : 190 lbs
Date of birth : September 1, 1984
Place of birth : Kenema, Sierra Leone
Last club : HIFK Helsinki
Acquired : February 18, 2022
