Ola Kamara

Club

Gamle Oslo

Position

Forward

Nationality

Norway

Date of birth

1989-10-15

Birthplace

Oslo, Norway

Height

1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)

Shirt number

19

Ola Williams Kamara (born 15 October 1989) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for OBOS-ligaen club Vålerenga. He has previously played for Stabæk, Hønefoss, Strømsgodset, Molde, Austria Wien, TSV 1860 Munich, Columbus Crew SC, LA Galaxy, Shenzhen, D.C. United and Häcken. Kamara represented Norway both at youth and senior international levels.
Career
Club
Early career
His father moved from Sierra Leone to Norway as a refugee. Kamara was born and raised in Oslo. When Kamara was one year old, his parents chose to seek help in raising him, and Kamara spent every second weekend, holidays and birthdays with a foster care family. He played for Frigg during his youth, and made his debut for the first-team in the Second Division at the age of 15. Kamara moved to Stabæk at the age of 16, and soon became an integral part team of Stabæk's youth team. He scored the match-winning goal in the final against Viking when Stabæk won the Norwegian Youth Cup in 2008.

Stabæk
Kamara made his debut for Stabæk in Tippeligaen at the age of 16, when he replaced Somen Tchoyi as a substitute in the 2–2 draw against Lillestrøm on 1 October 2006. The next season, he joined the First Division side Hønefoss on a short-term loan, as a replacement for the injured Lars Lafton and Kenneth Di Vita Jensen. Kamara played three matches for Stabæk in 2008, enough to earn him a winners-medal, when the team won Tippeligaen. Kamara's contract expired after the 2008 season, and he wanted to find a new club, even though Stabæk wanted to renew his contract, because he found it too hard to compete with Daniel Nannskog and Veigar Páll Gunnarsson for playing time. After unsuccessful trials with Reggina and Sandefjord, Kamara had gotten an offer from the 2. Divisjon side Bærum but on the last day of the transfer window ahead of the 2009 season, he signed a two-year contract with the Tippeligaen side Strømsgodset. As his wage was only 135,000 kr per year, Kamara had to move back home to his mother.

Strømsgodset Toppfotball
Kamara was mostly back-up for Marcus Pedersen in his first season with Strømsgodset. After Pedersen moved to Netherlands in August 2010, Kamara started to play regularly alongside Jo Inge Berget. Kamara scored seven goal in 25 matches in the 2010 season, and became joint top goalscorer for Strømsgodset alongside Pedersen. Kamara also scored goals in the semifinal and the final when Strømsgodset won the 2010 Norwegian Football Cup. Kamara signed a new