Roger Milla’s Influence: Kei Kamara’s International Return at 40

Kei Kamara (left) aims to replicate Roger Milla’s achievement as the oldest goalscorer in a Fifa World Cup by participating in a significant international competition during his forties. Kei Kamara has stated that his choice to re-enter international football at 40 years old was motivated by the iconic Cameroonian player, Roger Milla. Kamara’s objective was to assist Sierra Leone in securing qualification for the upcoming year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), and he participated for 76 minutes in Wednesday’s 1-1 tie against Chad. Nevertheless, the Leone Stars’ aspirations of advancing to next year’s finals in Morocco were extinguished when Zambia later claimed the final qualification position in Group G. The attacker, whose first appearance was in 2008, has now accumulated 40 caps for his national team, netting seven goals, yet he has only participated in a single major international tournament, the 2021 Nations Cup. By contrast, Milla took part in four Afcon tournaments, emerging victorious in two, and also featured in three Fifa World Cups. He continues to hold the distinction as the oldest outfield player and goalscorer in a World Cup, having scored against Russia during the 1994 finals when he was 42 years and 39 days old, after previously ending his retirement at 38 to participate in the 1990 tournament. “There’s only one person I think about when I decided to come do this thing all over again, being part of the national team at this age, and that’s Roger Milla,” Kamara told the BBC World Service. “Roger Milla was doing it, came back out, played at the World Cup at 42.” “The World Cup is only two years ago away, so why not?” This marks another instance of Kamara reversing his decision regarding international retirement. He initially ceased playing internationally in November 2019, only to come back a year subsequent to aid his country in qualifying for the postponed 2021 Nations Cup, which took place in Cameroon in early 2022. Following the tournament, he retired for a second occasion, after failing to convert a penalty in their concluding group match, a goal that might have advanced the West Africans to the last 16. “I thought when I walked away, that was it for me,” he said. “After playing for 15 years, representing the country, and felt like I was going out with the cherry on top.” However, Kamara’s continuing involvement in US Major League Soccer (MLS), where he currently ranks second on the all-time goalscorers list, prompted a reconsideration of his decision. “Joining a team like Los Angeles FC this season, and having so much success, and making a couple more histories in America, and everybody just keeps asking, ‘Why are you retiring? Why can’t you be here when you’re doing this much in MLS?’.” “I kind of heard the cry and some of my team-mates that I’ve been with for many years also called and I had to do it.” The 2021 Afcon, where Sierra Leone finished third in a group that included Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Algeria, represents the sole major tournament in which Kamara has participated. Kamara’s birth occurred on 1 September 1984, in Kenema, which is Sierra Leone’s third-largest urban center. He resided there until the age of 16, directly witnessing the atrocities of the nation’s civil war during the 1990s, prior to his family’s relocation to the United States. After becoming a professional player with the MLS team Columbus Crew, he went back to his native country in 2006. “After I made that trip, that’s when I started falling back in love with football in Sierra Leone,” he recalled. “Just to see how little we had. But people were still just out in the fields early in the morning, on the dusty, red dirt fields, playing, going for long runs.” Even though he had the alternative of representing the USA, Kamara chose to accept an international call-up for his Leone Stars debut in a World Cup qualifier against Equatorial Guinea in June 2008. “I felt like I wanted to do this because I want to be able to inspire many other people that have love for Sierra Leone, that’s living overseas in the diaspora,” he said. “It’s the best thing I did in my career, to pick up that call and represent Sierra Leone. It got me so close to the country, so close to the people.” Currently playing for his 11th distinct MLS team, Kamara has appeared in 29 matches for LA FC this season, predominantly as a substitute, contributing three goals to assist the Californians in leading the Western Conference and advancing to the play-off semi-finals. They are scheduled to host the Seattle Sounders following the international break. Kamara, who previously played for Norwich and Middlesbrough, attributes his sustained career to a healthy lifestyle, humorously suggesting he needs to “sit down with Cristiano Ronaldo,” who turns 40 in February, “to see how we’re doing this.” “It’s a reward for what you’ve done in many years,” he went on to explain. “It’s not cliché – I don’t drink alcohol, I didn’t smoke, I didn’t put anything illegal in my body.” “When I spend time in Sierra Leone, I’m always doing a lot of distance running, keeping myself fit.” “But also there’s a little bit of luck that you need, which is the blessings of not being injured.” Kamara might still have an opportunity to emulate his idol, Milla, by participating in a World Cup hosted in the US. The Leone Stars maintain aspirations of appearing in the 2026 tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, but their qualifying campaign allows for minimal mistakes. They currently sit in fourth place after four matches in their six-team group, five points behind the leading team, Egypt. While only the top team in the group is assured a spot in the finals, the second-placed team has the potential to advance to an intercontinental play-off. Sierra Leone has never secured qualification for the World Cup, and Kamara will have reached the age of 41 by the commencement of the tournament. Achieving qualification for the finals could still provide a concluding international farewell.