Mamadi Camara (soccer, born 1995)

Mamadi Camara (born February 25, 1995) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Mamadi Camara
Mamadi Camara
Camara with HFX Wanderers in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-02-25) February 25, 1995 (age 29)
Place of birthGuinea
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)Attacking midfielder, forward
Youth career
CS Longueuil
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015–2018Simon Fraser Clan69(29)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2015CS Longueuil11(3)
2017TSS FC Rovers8(2)
2018Calgary Foothills8(0)
2019CS St-Hubert4(3)
2020Colorado Springs Switchbacks14(1)
2021Celtix du Haut-Richelieu10(11)
2021HFX Wanderers10(1)
2022FC Edmonton26(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 8, 2022

Early life

Camara was born in Guinea, before moving to Montreal in Canada aged four-years old.[1] He is a dual Guinean and Canadian national.[2][3]

Camara played four seasons of college soccer at Division II Simon Fraser University in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference between 2015 and 2018, where he made 69 appearances, scoring 29 goals and tallying 20 assists.[4][5] Over his four years for SFU, he was named to the GNAC first all-star team each year, the All-West team in his final three years, and GNAC player of the year in his senior season.[6]

Club career

While at college, Camara played in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec with CS Longueuil in 2014 and 2015.[7] In 2016, during his summer break, he was invited to train with Whitecaps FC 2, the second team of Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[8] In 2017, he joined USL PDL club Vancouver TSS FC Rovers and then in the following year, he joined Calgary Foothills. In 2019, he played with PLSQ club CS St-Hubert.[9][10] Afterwards, he returned to B.C., and joined amateur side Surrey Central City Breakers FC, helping them win the 2019 Challenge Trophy as national champions.[11]

Prior to the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, Camara was one of six Canadians, and the only NCAA Division II player, invited to the MLS Combine.[6] On January 11, 2019, Camara was selected 46th overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by San Jose Earthquakes.[12] He became the first player who played in the PLSQ to be drafted into the MLS.[13][14] However, he did not sign with the club.[15]

On December 17, 2019, Camara joined USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks ahead of their 2020 season.[16] He scored his first professional goal on September 16 against El Paso Locomotive.[15]

In 2021, he returned to the semi-professional PLSQ with Celtix du Haut-Richelieu, where he scored 11 goals in 10 matches. He was leading the league in scoring with 11 goals in 10 matches, at the time he departed the club for a professional opportunity.[17]

On September 1, 2021, he signed with HFX Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League for the remainder of the 2021 season.[18] In his second appearance, on September 6 against York United FC, he was nearly credited with his first goal, after his header hit the crossbar then deflected off a defender into the goal, ultimately being ruled an own goal.[17][19] He scored his first CPL goal on October 3 against York.[20][21] He departed the club at the end of the season.[22]

In February 2022, Camara signed with FC Edmonton.[21][23]

Career statistics

As of 8 October 2022[24]
Club statistics
ClubSeasonLeaguePlayoffsDomestic CupLeague CupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
CS Longueuil2014[25]Première Ligue de soccer du Québec200020
2015[25]9320113
Vancouver TSS FC Rovers2017[26]Premier Development League8282
Calgary Foothills FC2018[27]800080
CS St-Hubert2019[25]Première Ligue de soccer du Québec430043
Colorado Springs Switchbacks2020USL Championship141141
Celtix du Haut-Richelieu2021[25]Première Ligue de soccer du Québec10111011
HFX Wanderers FC2021Canadian Premier League10000100
FC Edmonton2022Canadian Premier League26410274
Career total91240010209424

References

External links