April 30, 2025. Ismailia, Egypt. The U-20 Africa Cup of Nations is underway, and Sierra Leone are battling Egypt in a Group A matchup heavily favoring the host country. Egypt — the designated “visitors” in today’s matchup at Suez Canal Authority Stadium — are up 0-1 with half an hour left on the clock. Sierra Leone’s “Shooting Stars” have never bagged a win at AFCON, and the opposition isn’t expecting them to start now.
Captain Momoh Kamara, at 19 years old, sends those misconceptions down the drain.
63rd minute. Goal, Kamara. 66th minute. Goal, Kamara. Teammate Sallieu Bah scores on a penalty in the 75th, and the underdogs are up 3-1 with an insane trio of goals in just over 10 minutes. To really drive it home, Kamara makes it a hat trick in stoppage time, and the Shooting Stars indeed shoot up the rankings, logging their first AFCON victory and going on to beat Tanzania and qualify for the quarterfinals.
“Every player’s dream is to play for the national team,” Kamara said. “To break through is very, very hard. I thank God I’ve made it.”
Alongside Kamara in the midfield, starter Alpha Kabia also put in a dynamic performance in that crucial match. Minnesota United announced Kabia’s MLS NEXT Pro contract earlier that month, a one-year agreement with a club option through 2026. And he wasn’t the only talent that grabbed the attention of MNUFC Head of Development and Player Pathway Amos Magee from across the North Atlantic.
Even before Sierra Leone’s monumental showing at AFCON, the club had an interest in Kamara, and MNUFC2 made it official just a month after Kabia’s signing, bringing in now-20-year-old Kamara on loan from Mattia Football Club for the year with an option to buy.
“I was super excited because he’s my best friend. He’s my buddy. We’ve been playing for a couple years now together and he’s very, very good,” Kabia said.
For Kabia, moving from Sierra Leone to the United States at only 19, one of the biggest shocks was the five-hour time difference. “The first two weeks or month, I’d go to bed at like, 8 p.m.” Despite the residual jet lag, he says the team and his coaches helped him feel at home quickly, welcoming him and helping him adjust to the new environment. “The people here are good. They’re family to me.”
Minnesota has already found great success in recruiting players who have previously worked together, evidenced by Nicolás Romero joining the first-team lineup this year and being reunited with former teammate Joaquín Pereyra. Now the strategy moves down the pipeline, as MNUFC2 has gained two instrumental players with international success under their belts and a history of chemistry on the pitch.
Having an old friend on the roster helps when there’s so much to adapt to — time zones, culture, food, even differences in the game itself. Both midfielders agree that the biggest difference in playstyle between Sierra Leone and the United States is the intensity of the game. According to Kabia, the type of ball he grew up playing was more physically aggressive, but in MLS NEXT Pro, it’s more demanding from a psychological, competitive standpoint.
“I just think here, the intensity, the level, the players that you meet, it’s really good,” he said. “It’s really high because everybody’s fighting to improve, fighting for the top spot.”
Neither of them expected to wind up playing in the Midwest, but both have settled in and found both community and success with the Twos, already making several MLS NEXT Pro appearances together as well as their Allianz Field debut in a friendly matchup against 2. Bundesliga side Holstein Kiel.
In MLS NEXT Pro play, Kabia first featured against St. Louis CITY 2 and slotted right into place among his peers. In his first start against Austin FC II, he created a scoring opportunity in the first minute by driving the ball into Austin’s defending third and passing it off to forward Troy Putt.
Kamara opened his account with MNUFC2 in only his second appearance. He recalls sitting on the bench with his teammates and commenting that they were playing well, but not shooting. “I said, ‘yeah, I will score.’” Kamara subbed in for Academy call-up Aidan Martinez in the 69th minute.
In the 70th? Goal, Kamara.
It’s a start befitting the player who led Sierra Leone’s U20s to their first-ever win at AFCON, and the resumption of a dynamic partnership that speaks to the importance of team connection both on and off the pitch.
“We understand each other very well,” Kamara said.
From Sierra Leone to Egypt to the Twin Cities suburbs, Kamara and Kabia are making waves as rising talents, side by side.
“He’s a top player. I love playing with him,” Kabia said. “He’s my brother.”
