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MLS: Top 5 African players in league history

By Matt Coles

COMMERCE CITY, CO - AUGUST 03: Kei Kamara #23 of the Colorado Rapids gestures to fans following a goal during the first half against the Montreal Impact at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on August 3, 2019 in Commerce City, Colorado. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
COMMERCE CITY, CO - AUGUST 03: Kei Kamara #23 of the Colorado Rapids gestures to fans following a goal during the first half against the Montreal Impact at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on August 3, 2019 in Commerce City, Colorado. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 29: Kei Kamara #23 of the Colorado Rapids during a pause in the play during a game between Colorado Rapids and D.C. United at Audi Field on February 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tony Quinn/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 29: Kei Kamara #23 of the Colorado Rapids during a pause in the play during a game between Colorado Rapids and D.C. United at Audi Field on February 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tony Quinn/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /

1. Kei Kamara

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is the man with the longest MLS career that takes the top spot on our list. Having been born and raised in Sierra Leone, Kei Kamara moved with his family to the United States when he was 16-years-old and was eventually drafted by the Columbus Crew with the ninth overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He has since gone on to play in the league in 14 different campaigns, featuring for seven teams in the process.

After five uninspiring seasons, including one with the San Jose Earthquakes and two with the Houston Dynamo following a two-year stint in Ohio, Kamara signed for the Kansas City Wizards, where he finally hit double-digit goals in the 2010 campaign, scoring ten times and assisting on six other strikes that year. He then helped the side, now named Sporting Kansas City, to the U.S. Open Cup two seasons later.

He left the United States in 2013, moving to England, where he played for both Norwich City and Middlesbrough, but returned to MLS and Columbus just 18 months later. Kamara had his best season in the league that year, scoring 22 times in 32 matches, finishing the regular season as the joint-top scorer alongside Sebastian Giovinco. Thanks to his performances, he was nominated to the MLS All-Star Game and also selected into the MLS Best XI that season.

Next. MLS: Top 5 South American players in league history. dark

Kamara has since recorded three more double-digit goal-scoring seasons with three different teams, the New England Revolution, Vancouver Whitecaps and Colorado Rapids, where he still plays to this day. He currently has 127 goals in 345 regular-season appearances and sits just six goals behind Jaime Moreno as the most prolific foreign player to play in MLS, a record the African star will surely break sooner rather than later.

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