OBETZ, Ohio—In the hope of spurring change within the Sierra Leone national team that he loves, Kei Kamara is taking a drastic step.
The Columbus Crew SC striker announced October 3 via social media that he is stepping away indefinitely from international consideration. At Crew SC training Thursday, Kamara clarified why he decided to distance himself from the Leone stars.
“It’s something that I’ve seriously been thinking about for the last couple of years,” he said. “I was just giving them a shot to see what the vision of soccer in the country would be, and giving it a shot over and over. I’m not seeing any change; I’m not seeing anything.”
For Kamara, leaders at the Sierra Leone Football Association simply are not willing to match the commitments offered by the players.
“I just see players making a lot of sacrifices,” he said. “But the people that control us, that organize all the games and everything, aren’t making sacrifices (like) players for the country. I can’t keep making those sacrifices, now that I have a family and all that. I have to look out for myself a little bit more.”
Considering the differences between working with the national team and his club in Columbus, Kamara laughed.
“It’s almost everything,” he said.
From travel to preparation, the striker says there’s no structure: “There’s never been any trip that was any easier on us. It’s never less than 24 hours when it could be a 6-hour trip. Everything is just chaotic, everything in general. As players, we just have to really sacrifice and mentally be strong enough to overcome these obstacles. But it has not been anywhere close to good enough.”
Though his conviction is strong, stepping away is a difficult decision for Kamara. While his compatriots are in camp without him, he says he’s staying strong.
“It’s tough,” he said. “Even yesterday, seeing messages and pictures from the guys in camp, I miss them a lot. But it’s not just me hanging out with the guys. It’s, ‘What’s the goal for everything?’ It wasn’t an easy decision.”
Kamara says he is not sure if anyone else will follow his lead. Perhaps, he says, the difference in point of view comes from spending time in the United States, where he experienced the structure of Cal State-Dominguez Hills and MLS clubs.
“No disrespect to any of [the players who continue to play for Sierra Leone],” he said. “I grew up in a system [in the US], and I believe in a system. I believe having a system will give you success. I’ve been trying to implement some of the system over there for so many years, and I’m not seeing any little bit of progress. If no progress is going [to happen], there’s no chance [I’ll] keep wasting my time on it.”
The striker is open to a return to the team if things change. But first, the team will have to develop and build toward having “a shot, a better shot,” at qualifying for a meaningful tournament. Sierra Leone have not qualified for a major tournament since the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and are currently third out of three teams in their qualifying group for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
“Obviously, my options are open to be back there,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of phone calls since I made that decision from ex-players, legends and family members and teammates saying, ‘Please come back, we need you,’ and stuff like that. But it’s not about that. It’s not about the phone calls. I didn’t do it so people could call me and beg me to come back. I did it because I want to see the best for the national team.”
