MLSsoccer.com's "Under African Skies" series is a look at what the
first World Cup held on the African continent means to Major League
Soccer's African players. We continue with Kei Kamara of the Kansas City Wizards, who hails from Sierra Leone.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kei Kamara leaves little doubt where his loyalties lie.
Kamara has lived in the United States since he was 16 years old, but his heart is still in Africa, more specifically Sierra Leone.
And even though the Leone Stars have never played in World Cup, the 24-year-old’s sporting allegiances are squarely with the continent’s six participants this time around; South Africa, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Algeria.
“Obviously, all the Africans are going to be supporting all the African countries,” Kamara said. “But it doesn’t matter who is playing who. All the stadiums are going to light up with dancing and celebration and make the game fun for everyone.”
Soccer fans around the globe got a glimpse of African fan culture last summer during the Confederations Cup, but the passion surrounding this summer’s tournament figures to blow that display out of the water.
Soccer has tightened its grip on Africa, and in a continent in which there are so many divisions within each nation – tribe, religion, and race among the many – Kamara said the beautiful game bridges the gaps to connect people of all backgrounds.
“Sports just bring everyone together,” Kamara said. “It was that one thing that when it was happening, no matter what’s going on, everybody would be in that one place.”
With the World Cup coming to African soil for the first time, and likely the last for the foreseeable future, the continent will grind to a stop when one of its team’s takes the field.
The streets in Sierra Leone already clear when Manchester United and other top European club sides play on television, and Kamara said that focus will only intensify across Africa as the continent’s five team attempt to make sporting history on their own soil.
“When the game is on the streets are kind of empty, and the cinema is full of people watching it,” Kamara said. “So the World Cup is going to be something else.”
Kamara gives Ivory Coast – complete with Didier Drogba and a host of other world-class players – the best chance to advance, even if they must escape the group of death first.
But no matter how everything shakes out in June and early July, Kamara knows Africa and its unique people will make this World Cup one to remember.
“It will be a big carnival all over,” he said.
