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MLS Chicago Fire FC

Forward Kei Kamara Named to 2023 MLS All-Star Roster as a Commissioner's Pick

June 27, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


CHICAGO - Chicago Fire FC today announced that team-leading goal scorer Kei Kamara has been selected to the 2023 MLS All-Star Roster by Commissioner Don Garber. It is the second MLS All-Star inclusion for Kamara, who was a member of the 2015 MLS All-Star Game.

He is the first Fire player to be named to an All-Star roster since Bastian Schweinsteiger's selection to the 2019 MLS All-Star Team.

The 2023 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target will be played on Wednesday, July 19, and feature the MLS All-Stars taking on Arsenal FC, the renowned 13-time English league champions, at Audi Field, home of D.C. United. The roster was selected through a combination of fan, player, and media voting (12 players), designations by All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney of host club D.C. United (12 players), and a pair of selections by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

A 16-year MLS veteran, Kamara has played in 407 regular season matches, logging 322 starts and 29,550 minutes played. During that time, Kamara scored 144 goals and registered 55 assists. With 144 goals, he is one away from tying Landon Donovan for the second-most in League history, and Kamara currently has the most goals in League history among all active players. Additionally, he is one of 10 players in MLS history and the only active player to have scored more than 100 regular season goals in his career.

In addition to being named an MLS All-Star in 2015, Kamara was named to the 2015 MLS Best XI following a career best 22-goal season for the Columbus Crew. The Sierra Leone native was also named MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year in 2015.

He joined the Fire after spending the 2022 campaign with Montréal. Kamara began his MLS career with the Columbus Crew as the ninth overall draft pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. Following two seasons (2006, 2007) in Ohio, Kamara crossed the country to play with the San Jose Earthquakes and the Houston Dynamo in 2008 and 2009.

Kamara then played with Sporting Kansas City from 2009-2013, winning the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy, before returning to the Columbus Crew in 2015. During his return to Columbus, Kamara scored a career-high 22 goals in the 2015 season, ranking tied for the most goals in the League with Sebastian Giovinco, while also helping to lead the Crew to another MLS Cup appearance.

Following his time in Columbus, Kamara would feature for the New England Revolution (2016-17), Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2018), Colorado Rapids (2019-20), Minnesota United FC (2020) and Montréal (2022).

The 2023 MLS All-Star roster by position and selection mechanism:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC / Voted In), Tyler Miller (D.C. United / Coach's Selection), Djordje Petrović (New England Revolution / Coach's Selection)

DEFENDERS (7): Álvaro Barreal (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Jon Gallagher (Austin FC / Voted In), Ryan Hollingshead (LAFC / Coach's Selection), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Tim Parker (St. Louis CITY SC / Coach's Selection), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls / Coach's Selection), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC / Voted In)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Thiago Almada (Atlanta United / Voted In), Mathieu Choinière (CF Montréal / Commissioner's Selection), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC / Coach's Selection), José Martínez (Philadelphia Union / Coach's Selection), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew / Voted In), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC / Voted In), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy / Coach's Selection), Lucas Zelarayán (Columbus Crew / Coach's Selection)

FORWARDS / WINGERS (7): Christian Benteke (D.C. United / Coach's Selection), Dénis Bouanga (LAFC / Voted In), Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes / Coach's Selection), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas / Voted In), Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United / Coach's Selection), Kei Kamara (Chicago Fire FC / Commissioner's Selection), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC / Voted In)

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