Mamadi Camara (soccer, born 1995)

For other people named Mamadi Camara, see Mamadi Camara.
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 birth Guinea
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, forward
Youth career
CS Longueuil
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Simon Fraser Clan 69 (29)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 CS Longueuil 11 (3)
2017 TSS FC Rovers 8 (2)
2018 Calgary Foothills 8 (0)
2019 CS St-Hubert 4 (3)
2020 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 14 (1)
2021 Celtix du Haut-Richelieu 10 (11)
2021 HFX Wanderers 10 (1)
2022 FC Edmonton 26 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 8, 2022

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

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 university soccer at NCAA 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 university, 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 October 8, 2022[24]
Club statistics
Club Season League Playoffs Domestic Cup League Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
CS Longueuil 2014[25] Première Ligue de soccer du Québec 2 0 — — 0 0 2 0
2015[25] 9 3 — — 2 0 11 3
Vancouver TSS FC Rovers 2017[26] Premier Development League 8 2 — — — 8 2
Calgary Foothills FC 2018[27] 8 0 0 0 — — 8 0
CS St-Hubert 2019[25] Première Ligue de soccer du Québec 4 3 — — 0 0 4 3
Colorado Springs Switchbacks 2020 USL Championship 14 1 — — — 14 1
Celtix du Haut-Richelieu 2021[25] Première Ligue de soccer du Québec 10 11 — — — 10 11
HFX Wanderers FC 2021 Canadian Premier League 10 0 — 0 0 — 10 0
FC Edmonton 2022 Canadian Premier League 26 4 — 1 0 — 27 4
Career total 91 24 0 0 1 0 2 0 94 24

References

  1. ^ Adams, J.J. (January 13, 2019). "MLS SuperDraft: SFU's Mamadi Camara finds the perfect fit in San Jose". The Province.
  2. ^ Frost, Steve (December 13, 2018). "Mamadi Camara invited to Major League Soccer Player Combine". Simon Fraser University.
  3. ^ "Mamadi Camara profile". USL Championship.
  4. ^ Frost, Steve. "Mamadi Camara selected 46th overall in MLS SuperDraft". Simon Fraser University athletics.
  5. ^ "Mamadi Camara profile". Major League Soccer.
  6. ^ a b Adams, J.J. (January 13, 2019). "MLS SuperDraft: SFU's Mamadi Camara finds the perfect fit in San Jose". The Province.
  7. ^ "MLS: Mamadi Camara quitte le Canada pour la Major League" [MLS: Mamadi Camara leaves Canada for the Major League]. Guinée Actusport (in French). January 17, 2019.
  8. ^ McColl, Michael (April 10, 2017). "Get To Know Your TSS Rovers: Mamadi Camara". Away From The Numbers.
  9. ^ "Mamadi Camara - Colorado Switchbacks (USL) 2020". CS St-Hubert.
  10. ^ "François Bourgeais (St-Hubert) : " On a à coeur de combler l'écart avec les gros de PLSQ "" [François Bourgeais (St-Hubert): "We are keen to bridge the gap with the big PLSQ"]. Just eSoccer (in French). September 18, 2019.
  11. ^ Zillich, Tom (December 19, 2019). "Pro deal for Camara, who helped Surrey's CCB team win national soccer championship". The Surrey Now News-Leader.
  12. ^ "News: Earthquakes Select Three Players in 2019 MLS SuperDraft". San Jose Earthquakes. January 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Harvey-Pinard, Katherine (January 16, 2019). "Un ancien du CS Longueuil repêché en MLS" [A former CS Longueuil drafted in MLS]. Le Courrier du Sud (in French).
  14. ^ "Mamadi Camara, premier joueur PLSQ sélectionné en MLS" [Mamadi Camara, first PLSQ player selected in MLS]. Just eSoccer (in French). January 16, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Benedetto, Vinny (September 18, 2020). "Mamadi Camara hopes to replicate college success with Colorado Springs Switchbacks". The Gazette.
  16. ^ Costra, Cody (December 17, 2019). "Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Sign Mamadi Camara". Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
  17. ^ a b Briggins, Jonathan (November 15, 2021). "Mamadi Camara: Building a Pathway to Pursue the Childhood Dream". HFX Wanderers.
  18. ^ Thompson, Marty (September 1, 2021). "HFX Wanderers sign striker Mamadi Camara for rest of 2021 season". Canadian Premier League.
  19. ^ Myrer, George (September 6, 2021). "Wild finish as HFX Wanderers pull off tie with York United". SaltWire Network.
  20. ^ Ramirez, Luis (October 3, 2021). "York United saves one golden point against HFX Wanderers". Toronto Observer.
  21. ^ a b "FC Edmonton adds Canadian striker Mamadi Camara". FC Edmonton. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  22. ^ Jacques, John (November 22, 2021). "Halifax Wanderers Announce Six Player Departures". Northern Tribune.
  23. ^ Jacques, John (February 22, 2022). "Eddies Add Mamadi Camara To Attack". Northern Tribune.
  24. ^ Mamadi Camara at Soccerway
  25. ^ a b c d "PLSQ Stats Archive" (in French). TSI Sports. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  26. ^ "Mamadi Camara 2017 Stats". Premier Development League.
  27. ^ "Mamadi Camara 2018 Stats". Premier Development League.