Kam Kandola

Kam Kandola
Personal information
Full name Kamran Kandola[1]
Date of birth (2004-01-03) 3 January 2004
Place of birth Wolverhampton, England
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Hereford
Number 4
Youth career
2011–2024 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2026 Kidderminster Harriers 65 (2)
2026– Hereford 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:07, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Kamran Kandola (born 3 January 2004) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for National League North club Hereford.

Career

Early career

Kandola began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He signed his first professional contract in November 2021.[2] Naturally a defender, whilst playing for Wolves U21 in March 2023, he played 70 minutes as a makeshift goalkeeper, saving a penalty immediately after coming off the bench.[3] He spent 13 years in total with the youth academy before being released in September 2024.[4] Before departing Wolves, he had an unsuccessful trial with League Two club Cheltenham Town.[5]

Non-League career

In September 2024, Kandola signed for National League North club Kidderminster Harriers.[6] In June 2025, he extended his contract for a further year after winning the club's young player of the year award.[7] Despite earning promotion to the National League via the play-offs, he was released by the club at the end of the 2025–26 season.[8]

On 17 June 2026, Kandola joined National League North club Hereford, signing a two-year contract.[9] On the eve of their first game of the season, he was named vice-captain.[10] He made his debut on the opening day of the season on 8 August 2026 in a 2–1 league defeat away against Buxton.[11] Captaining the side in the absence of Lewis Hudson, he received a straight red card in the 73rd minute in his second home game for the club.[12]

Personal life

Kandola was born and raised in Wolverhampton and is of Sikh-Punjabi heritage. He attended Thomas Telford School, the same school as former Aston Villa FA Youth Cup winner and fellow Sikh-Punjabi Arjan Raikhy.[13]

In July 2023, Kandola's story was profiled in All Stars, a children's football activity book commissioned by the Premier League and produced as part of its South Asian Action Plan. The book was published during South Asian Heritage Month and he was featured alongside other people of South Asian heritage working in football.[13]

In May 2025, Kandola was named in Sky Sports' annual South Asians in Football Team of the Season, an XI selected by journalists to recognise the contribution of British South Asian players.[14]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton
Wanderers U21		 2021–22[15] ———1[a]010
2022–23[16] ———2[a]020
2023–24[17] ———3[a]030
Total ———6060
Kidderminster Harriers 2024–25[18][19] National League North 29121—4[b]0352
2025–26[20][21] National League North 36110—7[c]0441
Total 65231—110793
Hereford 2026–27[22] National League North 4000—0040
Career total 6923100170893
  1. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ↑ Three appearances in FA Trophy; one appearance in National League North play-offs
  3. ↑ Five appearances in FA Trophy; two appearances in National League North play-offs

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League clubs publish 2023/24 retained lists". Premier League. 29 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 July 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Colman, Jonty (21 March 2023). "Why Wolves were forced into drastic measures during thumping defeat by West Ham's youngsters". football.london. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Harriers release captain Morgan-Smith". BBC Sport. 1 June 2026. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ Davies, Gregg (7 August 2026). "NEWS | Hudson and Kandola to Lead Bulls in 2026/27". Hereford F.C. Archived from the original on 9 August 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Lawrence, David (11 August 2026). "Hereford left frustrated as Buxton net late winner". Hereford Times. Newsquest. Archived from the original on 12 August 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  12. ↑ Lawrence, David (18 August 2026). "Hereford record back-to-back home wins despite red card". Hereford Times. Newsquest. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  13. 1 2 Trehan, Dev (28 July 2023). "Wolves kid Kam Kandola in children's book published in South Asian Heritage Month". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Trehan, Dev (7 May 2025). "British South Asians in football: Who makes it into the 2024/25 team of the season?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Kam Kandola in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  16. ↑ "Games played by Kam Kandola in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  17. ↑ "Games played by Kam Kandola in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  18. ↑ "Games played by Kam Kandola in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  19. ↑ For FA Cup third qualifying round: "28-09-24. Buxton FC 1 Kidderminster Harriers 1. FA Cup 3rd Qual Rd. Match report". Harriers Online. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
    "01-10-24. Kidderminster Harriers 2 Buxton FC 0. FA Cup 3rd Qual Rd Replay. Match report". Harriers Online. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
    For FA Trophy fourth round proper: "Kidderminster Harriers vs Slough Town: FA Trophy stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
    For FA Trophy fifth round proper: "Kidderminster Harriers vs Sutton United: FA Trophy stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Kam Kandola in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  21. ↑ For FA Cup second qualifying round: "Recap: AFC Telford 3-1 Harriers". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
    For FA Trophy third round proper: "Worksop Town vs Kidderminster Harriers: FA Trophy stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
    For FA Trophy fourth round proper: "Kidderminster Harriers vs Morecambe: FA Trophy stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
    For FA Trophy fifth round proper: "Halifax Town vs Kidderminster Harriers: FA Trophy stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. 31 January 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
    For FA Trophy quarter-final: "Kidderminster Harriers vs Wealdstone: FA Trophy stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. 28 February 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Kam Kandola in 2026/2027". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.