Diomansy Mehdi Moustapha Kamara (born 8 November 1980) is a former 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 played as a striker. Born in Paris, France, he played internationally for

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, whom he represented at three

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

. During a 17-year professional career, Kamara played for football clubs in Italy, England, Scotland, Turkey and India as well as France.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Kamara grew up in

Gennevilliers Gennevilliers () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department of Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. History On 9 April 1929, ...

. He began his professional career with

Red Star 93 Red Star Football Club (), known as Red Star FC or simply Red Star, is a French professional football club founded in Paris in 1897, and is the fourth oldest French football club, after Standard AC of Paris, Le Havre AC and Girondins de Borde ...

before joining

Catanzaro Catanzaro (; or ; ), also known as the "City of the two Seas" (), is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabr ...

during the 1999–2000 season. He made 34 league appearances and scored nine times for the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

n club before signing for

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

. In three seasons there, he scored 15 times in 82 appearances, impressing many with his speed and agility.

Portsmouth

In August 2004,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

wanted to sign Kamara for a loan deal but eventually signed him for £2.5 million for a permanent transfer, making him their then record signing. However, despite a bright start, Kamara struggled for form and injuries during the 2004–05 season, and after just one year at Portsmouth they took advantage of a clause in his contract which allowed them to move him on to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

whilst only paying £1 million of his initial transfer fee to Modena. Albion paid £1.5 million for Kamara.

West Bromwich Albion

Kamara made his Albion debut on 13 August 2005, replacing Kanu in the 60th minute in a 0–0 draw away at

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. He picked up a yellow card in each of his first three games for the club. His first goal for West Brom was scored in a 4–1 Hawthorns win over

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

in the League Cup, on 20 September 2005. It was one of only two goals scored by Kamara during 2005–06; his first league goal for the club was scored against

on 10 December 2005, Albion winning 2–0. Albion were relegated from the Premier League that season, but 2006–07 saw Kamara hit a rich vein of form, netting 23 goals in all competitions and helping Albion reach the playoff final. His goalscoring exploits earned him the ''Championship Player-of-the-Month'' award for October 2006, as well as the PFA Fans' Player-of-the-Month award for February 2007. He was also named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year and won the West Bromwich Albion ''Player of the Year'' award.

Fulham

On 9 July 2007, Kamara signed a four-year deal with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

for £6 million and the move was a club record sale from West Brom. Following his move to Fulham, he vowed that he could score 'a lot of goals' in the Premier League with Fulham. He made his debut for the Cottagers in a 2–1 defeat away at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 12 August 2007, replacing fellow debutant David Healy in the second half. Kamara scored his first goal for Fulham in a 1–0 win at

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

in the League Cup, on 28 August 2007. Four days later, he notched his first league goal for the Cottagers, a superb late overhead kick to earn a 3–3 draw with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. After the match, Kamara told the club's official website that the overhead kick goal was "classed the goal as possibly the best of his career". On 25 November 2007, he scored his second goal, in a match against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

which ended in a 2–2 draw. On 29 March 2008, he scored his third goal, against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in another 2–2 draw, which resulted Derby County being relegated to the Football League. Later in the 2007–08 season, after having a relatively dry spell in front of goal, Kamara resurrected Fulham's Premier League survival hopes with two goals in the last twenty minutes (plus a Danny Murphy rebound from a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

saved by

Joe Hart Charles Joseph John Hart (born 19 April 1987) is an English football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career at his hometown club Shrewsbury Town in the Football Conference and League Two. In ...

) secured a rare away win against Manchester City. Fulham eventually survived relegation, in the last game. Whilst playing for

in a match against

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

in June 2008, he ruptured his

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

, an injury which required

reconstructive surgery Reconstructive surgery is surgery performed to restore normal appearance and function to body parts malformed by a disease or medical condition. Description Reconstructive surgery is a term with training, clinical, and reimbursement implicat ...

. In his first start for the Cottagers since his injury Kamara scored a brace against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and also made an assist to Danny Murphy to score, helping his side win 3–1 on 9 May 2009. After the brace, manager

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...

praised Kamara's good performance. Kamara also scored in the following match, netting the winning goal in a 1–0 over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

on 16 May 2009. After the 2008–09 season, Kamara was linked with a move to join French Champion

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

who wanted him to replace the departing

Marouane Chamakh Marouane Chamakh (; ; born 10 January 1984) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is described as a prototypical Forward (association football)#Target forward, targ ...

who joined Arsenal, with Roma keen to sign him as well. However, the move was rejected as Kamara was not interested in a move overseas but instead hoping to find a new club in the UK. In the Premier League 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons, Kamara began playing less in the Premier League. He scored his only league goal in the 2009–10 season for Fulham in a 2–0 victory over

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 19 September 2009. On 17 September, he helped Fulham secure an away draw against

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...

which ended 1–1 in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. On 5 November 2009, Kamara scored from a penalty after being fouled in the penalty box in a match against Italian side

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

; he was substituted off in the 46th minute for

Erik Nevland Erik Nevland (born 10 November 1977) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently the sporting director of Viking. He played for clubs in Norway, England, Sweden and the Netherlands, and earned eight cap ...

and Fulham went on lose with a two-goals comeback from Roma. On 1 December 2009, he suffered knee problem which kept him out for one month. He made his return for Fulham in a 2–0 loss against

on 26 January 2010 after coming on for

Zoltán Gera Zoltán Gera (born 22 April 1979) is a Hungarian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder for Fulham F.C., Fulham, Pécsi Mecsek FC, Pécsi Mecsek and Harkány SE, as well as enjoying two spells at Ferencv ...

in the 72 minute.

Loan to Celtic

On 1 February 2010, Kamara moved to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season, and Celtic had an option to make the deal permanent if he impressed during his loan stint. His move to Celtic was allowed after Fulham brought

Stefano Okaka Stefano Chuka Okaka (; born 9 August 1989) is an Italian former Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward. He began his career at AS Roma, Roma, debuting shortly after his 16th birthday and being lo ...

on loan from Roma. Kamara had previously played under then-Celtic manager

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...

. He made his debut on 2 February 2010 against

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scotland, Scottish town of Kilmarnoc ...

in a 1–0 defeat. Kamara

On 7 February, Kamara scored his first goal for Celtic against

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker and is currently the head coach of Ferencváros. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until h ...

. On 13 February, he scored his second goal for Celtic and his first SPL goal, against

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in a 4–4 draw at

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Profess ...

. He also provided the assist for a goal from Keane who had assisted Kamara's goal. On 20 February 2010, Kamara provided an assist for Keane who scored a winning goal against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

in a 1–0 win. He then suffered an injury that kept him out about one month and made his return on 13 April 2010 against Motherwell in a 2–0 win. On 25 April, he scored the first of two goals in a 2–0 win against Dundee United after returning from injury. As his loan spell was set to expire, Kamara revealed he wanted to stay at Celtic permanently and that he would happily stay on at the club under interim boss

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...

after the sacking of Tony Mowbray. He revealed that he set his sights on securing a permanent deal at the club and described it as his 'priority' to stay at Celtic. However the move never happened, as Celtic decided not to pay the £2.5 million buyout clause in his contract. Kamara returned to Fulham and set his sights on a move to his boyhood club PSG.

Return to Fulham

Upon his return to Fulham, Kamara stated that the newly appointed manager of Fulham,

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...

, had made him stay and that he had been given a fresh chance. He also said that he would have left Fulham if Roy Hodgson had stayed in charge of the club (he became manager of Liverpool instead). Kamara did get more playing time for Fulham as the club was short of options following injuries to

Bobby Zamora Robert Lester Zamora (born 16 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Zamora began his career at Barking Abbey School. Then he moved to Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brig ...

and Mousa Dembélé. He scored his first league goal of the 2010–11 season on 16 October 2010 against

, in a 2–1 defeat in the 30th minute at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

. He also scored in a 2–1 defeat against

on 4 December 2010 at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

in the 30th minute, playing 73 minutes of the match before being replaced by fellow striker

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

. Despite the loss, manager Mark Hughes praised Kamara's performance, whilst Kamara stated that he was keen to hold down a regular first team place. On 8 January 2011, Kamara netted a hat-trick and played the full 90 minutes in the third round of the FA Cup against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

in a 6–2 victory at Craven Cottage. However, after the return of Zamora and Dembélé from injury, further opportunities were limited.

Loan to Leicester City

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

signed Kamara on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season on 21 March 2011 after Leicester City manager

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; 5 February 1948 – 26 August 2024) was a Swedish association football, football player and Coach (sport), manager. After a playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management ...

confirmed his interest in signing him. Kamara made his competitive debut against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 2 April 2011, making an assist in a 3–3 draw. He scored his first goal in a 4–0 win over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

on 9 April. He scored his second goal against

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

making the score 4–2. It was the last league goal to be scored at the

Walkers Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attentio ...

before it was renamed to King Power Stadium in summer 2011. After his loan spell finished, Kamara admitted his contribution was disappointing at Leicester City but was open to a return.

Eskişehirspor

On 24 June 2011, Fulham announced that Kamara would not be renewing his contract and had left the club to sign with

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club Eskisehirspor. On 10 September 2011, Kamara made his debut in the Eskişehirspor shirt against

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

in a 2–1 win. The following week, he scored his first goal for Eskişehirspor in a 4–0 win over

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

on 18 September 2011. Kamara continued his goalscoring form and became the top scorer for the club in his first season with 10 goals and the second top assist provider with 5 behind defender Dedê with 10.

NorthEast United

On 7 July 2015, he signed for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

NorthEast United FC NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural sea ...

International career

Kamara played 50 games and scored nine goals for the Senegal national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2006–07 Football League Championship

References

External links