Los Angeles Football Club forward Kei Kamara is an elite and historic figure in the MLS. On June 22, he scored his 146th career goal, making him the second all-time leading scorer. He is among 11 players in MLS history to have over 100 goals.
Although he moved away from his native Sierra Leone to live in Hawthorne, he always had a piece of his home with him through the Sierra Leone Interstate Soccer Association (SLISA). SLISA had teams in different states including Arizona, Virginia, and Maryland.
“Moving into the U.S. at the age of 16, obviously there had been some more Sierra Leonians here already,” Kamara said. “So it was really about keeping our culture, our communities together in all the different states around the U.S.”
Each weekend, Kamara would train with his SLISA teammates at Dorsey High School.
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“It’s always been a very close community, we were more like brothers other than friends,” he said.
The teammates that Kamara calls his older brothers taught him about the city while protecting him from gang activity. Soccer was also a way that Kamara fit in at Leuzinger High School. He mentioned that the men’s soccer coaching staff at Cal State Dominguez Hills also provided a family environment.
“Most of the guys are still my family until this day,” Kamara said. “They come to my games.”
SLISA recently hosted a community celebration for his 40th birthday. The Los Angeles that he grew up in is different from the L.A. that he now plays professionally for. The LAFC is the 11th team Kamara played for.
“LAFC and what we’ve done around the neighborhood over there where it’s so different now,” Kamara said. “I see everybody walking around with LAFC t-shirts, jerseys, it’s fun to see that.”
Throughout his career, Kamara showed how a player can come from a Division II university and be successful in the MLS. Another example of such is the all-time leading goal-scorer Chris Wondolowski, who competed for Chico State.
“Me and him has always had this bond to say let’s keep it one and two,” Kamara said. “I’ve been fighting for a long time to get close to him.”
Kamara has been able to give back through his Heart Shaped Hands Foundation, the name coming from his goal-scoring celebration. He has helped students by giving out scholarships; he now works on building a boarding school in Sierra Leone.
“If I can make one person smile, I love it … Now, I decided I want to take some of this joy and happiness back to Sierra Leone, where most of the kids don’t even get close to the opportunities that we have here,” Kamara said. “I’m using my heart and my hands to give back to the country where I came from.”
