From starring for Portsmouth at Carlisle and Fleetwood to facing Barcelona in La Liga: A remarkable 19-month journey
The talented winger made 52 appearances and scored 10 times for Pompey in the 2023-24 season
Just 19 months ago he was turning out for Pompey at Carlisle, Fleetwood and Cheltenham - now the attacker is facing Barcelona in La Liga.
It has been quite a journey for Abu Kamara, who faced the Spanish giants on Sunday for his second outing since departing Hull.
The 22-year-old’s deadline day switch to Getafe on a season-long loan ended a difficult maiden season with the Tigers, who stayed up on the last day of the 2024-25 campaign at Fratton Park.
Amid reported interest from Birmingham and Glasgow Rangers this summer, he opted for a fresh challenge in Spain - with the option of making the move permanent at the season’s end.
Once again, it was never realistic for Pompey to be able to bring the popular winger back to the south coast, particularly with the finances and rival clubs involved.
And, for a second successive summer, the Fratton faithful instead had to watch the League One title winner move elsewhere to progress his career, albeit Hull perhaps proving to be the wrong destination in August 2024.
Still, Kamara marked his second appearance for Getafe by locking horns with La Liga champions Barcelona, although it wasn’t at the Nou Camp.
With the iconic ground currently undergoing redevelopment, Barcelona have started the season playing home matches at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, including their Getafe clash.
The venue usually hosts the club’s women’s side and Barca Atletic, their B team who compete in the fourth tier, with a capacity of 6,000.
Kamara was among three half-time substitutes for the visitors, who were trailing 2-0 at the time, with the ex-Norwich man asked to play on the right-wing.
He had made his debut the previous week in a 2-0 home win over Real Oviedo, coming off the bench to feature for 23 minutes after the Spanish league had resumed following the international break.
The attacker had started this season in Hull’s first-team against Coventry and, by the time he left, had featured three times, taking his overall tally with the Tigers to 40 appearances and five goals.
Yet Kamara didn’t enjoy the levels of success he experienced at Fratton Park, both individually and collectively, during a season-long loan from Norwich in 2023-24.
Flourished at Fratton Park
Remarkably, he featured in every League One match that season as the Blues captured the title against Barnsley in April 2024 to secure a return to the Championship after a 12-year absence.
In total, the winger made 52 appearances and scored 10 times for the Blues, with his tally including two goals in the final five matches, crucially arriving against title challengers Derby and Bolton, as Mousinho’s men were eventually crowned champions with a five-point advantage.
He returned to Fratton Park on the final day of last season with Hull, when a 1-1 draw kept them up by the narrowest of margins, not that it was enough to save Ruben Selles’ job.
Following the final whistle, Kamara conducted a lap of appreciation to Pompey’s fans in a touching moment which was generously reciprocated towards a player who was a huge Blues favourite.
Now the 22-year-old is rubbing shoulders with Barcelona and will next month face Real Madrid rather than scoring match winners at Fleetwood in League One and Leyton Orient in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.