Fans left confused as former Fulham striker has bizarre name on AFCON teamsheet

Former Premier League striker Aboubakar Kamara has got fans confused by his rather bizarre nickname.

The ex-Fulham star is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with Mauritania and was named in the starting line up for their 1-0 defeat against Burkina Faso on Tuesday.

However, prior to the match fans spotted an unusual name on the Mauritania team sheet that may have had one or two people a little worried.

Kamara was listed as ‘AK.47’ on the team sheet in reference to his initials and the number he wore during his stint at Fulham.

Fans flocked to social media to have their say on the unusual nickname of Mauritania’s No.27 and unsurprisingly, there were puns a plenty.

One fan wrote: “No 27 for Mauritania is a deadly player.”

Another added: “His name is what?”

A third fan wrote: “I just hope AK47 doesn’t decide to shoot during the game.”

While a fourth fan added: “Sharp shooter that number 27.”

Responding to the fan reaction, Fulham said on X: “You don’t know ball if you don’t know Abou Kamara.”

The 28-year-old spent four years at Craven Cottage between 2017 and 2021, scoring 17 goals in 94 games.

He now turns out for Abu Dhabi-based side Al Jazira Club, whom he signed for in September.

Kamara made headlines in 2018 after angering the then Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri over a moment of petulance.

During a 1-0 win over Huddersfield, Kamara snatched the ball from striker Aleksandar Mitrovic as he was preparing to take a penalty.

His Fulham teammates attempted to take the ball off him and return it to designated taker Mitrovic but a defiant Kamara was having none of it and ended up missing from 12 yards.

After the match an angry Ranieri told reporters: “I said to Aboubakar Kamara to leave the ball to Aleksandar Mitrovic, he is the man who shoots the penalties.

“It is unbelievable, he did not respect me, the club, the team and the crowd. I spoke with him. It is not right.

“I wanted to kill him, that is normal when one man takes a ball, only because he scored the last penalty. It should be Mitrovic, that is it.”

A year later, Kamara was arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm at Fulham’s training ground and subsequently banned from all club activities before moving on loan to Turkish club Yeni Malatyaspor.