Liberian Teeboy Kamara signs a three-year contract with Adelaide United
By Peterking Quaye, Monrovia,Liberia ( Lead Sport Reporter ) – News coming from the Australian league has revealed that Liberian refugee Teeboy Kamara has signed a three-year contract with Adelaide United, a week after the 15-year-old made his debut in the first-team.
Teeboy Kamara
Attacking midfielder Kamara, who is an Australian citizen, was part of the Australian squad at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico earlier this year. “The last eight months have been eight months of joy with what has happened with my football, but I’m definitely not going to get ahead of myself,” Kamara said. From kicking a ball around in the park with his brothers he first played club football with the Croydon Kings under-8s before moving on to Salisbury United and the South Australian Sports Institute.
The 15-year-old came on for the Reds against the Gold Coast last week and according to new coach John Kosmina is “a natural”. He will remain a contracted youth league player until he turns 16 in May next year when his three-year senior deal will officially begin. He also spent time with SANFL club North Adelaide’s under-13 development squad before abandoning thoughts of a career in Australian rules.
Teeboy Kamara
Kamara, who fled war-torn Liberia with his family to Australia as a six-year-old, became the youngest player to play in the A-League against Gold Coast United last Friday. The club said due to his age and the contractual conditions of Football Federation Australia (FFA), Kamara’s contract will only officially begin on 18 May next year when he turns 16. Under Football Federation Australia (FFA) rules a professional contract cannot start until the player reaches school leaving age, which is 16 in South Australia.
According to FFA regulations a professional contract cannot start until the player is at a school-leaving age of the state in which he resides.
Adelaide United Football Director Michael Petrillo is quoted widely in local Australian media saying “In the meantime Kamara will be a National Youth League contracted player before he makes the transition to a senior contract on May 18 next year.” “So many people have supported me, family and friends. I’m very grateful and I just hope I can be a role model for other young African people to follow their dreams and never stop believing that they can achieve them.”
“For a 15-year-old he’s quite mature, physically he’s a fantastic specimen and last Friday night and this week at training he’s looked comfortable. He has been included in Adelaide’s travelling squad for the match against Sydney FC on Thursday.
