Gadi Kinda
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 March 1994[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia[2][3][4] | ||
| Date of death | 20 May 2025 (aged 31) | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2014 | Ashdod | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2019 | Ashdod | 160 | (12) |
| 2019–2021 | Beitar Jerusalem | 26 | (8) |
| 2020 | → Sporting Kansas City (loan) | 18 | (6) |
| 2021–2023 | Sporting Kansas City | 46 | (8) |
| 2024–2025 | Maccabi Haifa | 45 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2011–2012 | Israel U18 | 5 | (0) |
| 2012 | Israel U19 | 8 | (2) |
| 2013–2016 | Israel U21 | 16 | (1) |
| 2021–2024 | Israel | 10 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gadi Kinda (Hebrew: גדי קינדה; 23 March 1994 – 20 May 2025) was an Israeli professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Born in Ethiopia, he represented the Israel national team.[2]
Early life
[edit]Kinda was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian-Jewish family.[2] At the age of three, he immigrated to Israel with his family. At age 9, He joined football club Ashdod, which he made his professional debut in 2011, at age 17.[2]
Club career
[edit]From the age of 17, Kinda played for F.C. Ashdod in the Israeli Premier League and stayed with the club for eight years.
In February 2019, he moved to Beitar Jerusalem.[5]
In January 2020, Kinda joined Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy.[6] He made his debut on 29 February, and scored in a 3–1 win away to the Vancouver Whitecaps.[7] Following the 2020 season, Kinda was signed permanently by Sporting Kansas City.[8]
Sporting Kansas City declared that Kinda would miss the entire 2022 season due to a procedure to rebuild his right knee cartilage. His spots as a senior player and international were vacated for another player to fill, and some his financial value was deducted from the team's salary cap, but his spot as a designated player could not be transferred.[9] Following the 2023 season, Kinda left Kansas City and returned to Israel to join Maccabi Haifa.[10]
International career
[edit]Kinda made his debut for the senior Israel national team on 5 June 2021 in a friendly match against Montenegro. He substituted Manor Solomon in the 73rd minute and scored on his debut in added time to establish a final score of 3–1 for Israel.[11]
Death
[edit]In May 2025, Maccabi Haifa announced that Kinda had been suffering from a complicated medical issue. On 20 May 2025, he died from complications arising therefrom.[12]
Career statistics
[edit]| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5 June 2021 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro |  Montenegro |
3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 21 November 2023 | Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra |  Andorra |
2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
Honours
[edit]Beitar Jerusalem
References
[edit]- ^ Gadi Kinda – UEFA competition record (archive)
- ^ a b c d "ראשי".
- ^ "ערוץ ליגת על - חדשות NRG - ברוך הבא: סיפורו של גדי קינדה".
- ^ "Gadi Kinda | Sporting Kansas City".
- ^ "קלינגר לקראת מכבי חיפה: אני מאוד אתבאס ואתאכזב אם לא נגיע לפלייאוף העליון". Beitar Jerusalem F.C. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ "Sporting KC acquires 25-year-old Israeli central midfielder Gadi Kinda on loan from Beitar Jerusalem". sportingkc.com. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps 1, Sporting Kansas City 3". Major League Soccer. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Sporting exercises contracts on Dia, Hernandez, Kinda, Russell, Smith". Fox Sports. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ Sperry, Daniel. "More bad news for Sporting KC: midfielder Gadi Kinda will miss remainder of MLS season". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Gadi Kinda departs Sporting KC for Israeli club | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ "Montenegro v Israel game report". ESPN. 5 June 2021.
- ^ "הלך לעולמו שחקן מכבי חיפה גדי קינדה". mynet. 20 May 2025.
External links
[edit]- Gadi Kinda at Soccerway
- Gadi Kinda – Israel Football Association league player details
- 1994 births
- 2025 deaths
- Ethiopian Jews
- Ethiopian emigrants to Israel
- Jewish Israeli sportspeople
- Citizens of Israel through Law of Return
- Israeli people of Ethiopian-Jewish descent
- 21st-century Israeli sportsmen
- Israeli men's footballers
- Footballers from Ashdod
- Men's association football midfielders
- Israel men's youth international footballers
- Israel men's under-21 international footballers
- Israel men's international footballers
- Israeli Premier League players
- Liga Leumit players
- Major League Soccer players
- F.C. Ashdod players
- Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players
- Sporting Kansas City players
- Maccabi Haifa F.C. players
- Israeli expatriate men's footballers
- Israeli expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States