Some of the world’s top soccer players will soon come to Kansas City, representing all corners of the earth and vying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer championship. Although Kansas City has no players on Team USA, local teams have been represented by multiple Jewish players going back decades.
To celebrate the incoming World Cup matches, The Chronicle has compiled a list of some of the best former Jewish soccer players — all of whom had been featured in The Chronicle — whose efforts contributed to teams that have proven Kansas City’s legitimacy in the soccer realm.
Manny Schwartz
Kansas City Comets goalkeeper, 1983-1986
By the time 6-foot-2-inch Israel Defense Forces veteran Manny Schwartz (z”l) had joined the Kansas City Comets indoor soccer team in 1983, he had quite the soccer resume. He had been named most valuable player twice with Maccabi Haifa F.C., made his first appearance on the world stage in 1976 on the Israeli Olympic soccer team, and then played for the Israeli national team in the World Cup qualification round in 1978.
“Everything there was happening so fast,” Schwartz told The Chronicle in December 1983. “I mean, I accomplished just about everything, and I was just a little over 20 years old.”
When he joined the Comets in the mid-1980s, his wife, Neomy, and son, Aric, came with him and settled in Overland Park, Kansas.
Schwartz dealt with various injuries during his time with the Comets. In 1983, he sustained a shoulder dislocation. That shoulder was operated on right before the 1984-1985 season, during which he suffered a severely sprained thumb and dislocated ankle.
“You know you’re going to get bruises,” he told The Chronicle in November 1985. “You just have to deal with the pain.”
He retired from soccer in 1986, opening a unisex clothing store, Emanuelle, and partnering with another Israeli to open Kansas City’s first Israeli-style restaurant, The Natural, and its American-food co-restaurant, The Manor. All three businesses were located in Westport’s Manor Square.
Schwartz eventually left Kansas City. According to Haifa newspaper Hai Po, his career took him to Ko Samui, Thailand, in 2002, where he managed an Italian restaurant. In 2012, he died of a heart attack at age 54.
Benny Tabak
Kansas City Comets forward, 1984-1985
Benny Tabak became the Comets’ forward in 1984, joining Schwartz. Though he was only in Kansas City for a season, he attended multiple Jewish community events alongside Schwartz to sign balls and take photos with children.
The Chronicle reported in 1984 that Tabak had been on the Israeli National Team for nearly nine years before moving to Overland Park with his wife, Pazit, and son, Guy. The Tabaks and Schwartzes were close friends, according to The Chronicle, living in the same apartment complex and spending holidays together.
With the exception of his time in Kansas City, Tabak played soccer for Israeli teams from 1972 all the way until 1994, most notably with Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C., which calls him “one of the greatest strikers in [its] history.” He then switched to managing teams, most recently Hapoel Herzliya F.C. in Israel in 2019.
Sasha Victorine
Kansas City Wizards midfielder, 2005-2008
California-born Sasha Victorine followed up his high school soccer success with his performance at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), helping lead them to the NCAA title in 1997. He was later named an All-American in 1999.
His senior career began in 2000 with the Los Angeles Galaxy, where he made 121 appearances during his four years there. During this time, he also played on the U.S. Men’s team, including in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
In 2005, he was traded to the Kansas City Wizards, where he again made more than 100 appearances and scored a dozen goals.
After Kansas City, he played with Chivas USA in Los Angeles from 2008-2009 before retiring in 2010. He returned to Kansas City and worked with the Kansas City Wizards and served as a TV sports commentator on KCWE.
Victorine was interviewed by The Chronicle in 2022 when the announcement was made that the World Cup would be in Kansas City.
“Without a doubt, the most exciting part of the World Cup coming to Kansas City for me is the exposure kids and families will have with this event and the game of soccer,” Victorine said. “...Kansas City will be an international dwelling welcoming millions of soccer fans around the world, but even better, Kansas City will get to experience the culture and passion of these countries here in our home.”
Victorine currently works as the chief operating officer and chief revenue officer of Ad Astra, an AI-powered scheduling software for schools and universities.
Benny Feilhaber
Sporting Kansas City midfielder, 2013-2017 and 2019-2020
Benny Feilhaber, a Brazilian-born Jewish American, came to the United States at age 6, eventually ending up at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His success there led him to be invited to the U.S. Under-20 National Team, later joining the U.S. National Team and being on the rosters for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
His professional career began in Hamburg, Germany, and he later played in England and Denmark before returning to the U.S.
He came to Kansas City in 2013 after being traded to Sporting Kansas City from the New England Revolution. Shortly after moving here, Sporting Kansas City held a Jewish Heritage Day, for which Feilhaber told The Chronicle that “it will be an honor to play in front of those who cherish the same spiritual beliefs as I do.”
After appearing in 150 games and scoring 29 goals, Feilhaber was traded to Los Angeles FC and then the Colorado Rapids before coming back to Sporting in 2019. He then scored a further two goals for the team before retiring in 2020.
In his retirement, he began a managerial career, serving the UCLA Bruins and Sporting Kansas City in various roles before serving as the manager of the Sporting Kansas City II club team from 2022-2024. Most recently, he has managed the Oakland Roots Sports Club.
Andy Gruenebaum
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper, 2014
Overland Park native Andy Gruenebaum, son of Mike and Kris Gruenebaum, showed his soccer chops when he was named an All-American as a senior at Blue Valley North High School, then claiming the NSCAA Kansas Player of the Year award in 2000.
At the University of Kentucky, he played for the Kentucky Wildcats. He then joined the Des Moines Menace in 2005 before a seven-year stint with the Columbus Crew. Early in his career, he earned the moniker “The Hebrew Hammer.”
In 2014, Gruenebaum was traded to Sporting Kansas City, his hometown team.
“Being able to play in front of family and friends — people that I grew up with playing soccer as a kid — and just coming all this way full circle and playing… it is something that we’ve dreamed of,” he told The Chronicle that year.
After 11 appearances, he announced his retirement and transitioned to serving Sporting as a broadcaster, Sporting Kansas City Academy goalkeeper coach and liaison for youth soccer initiatives.
“It was a tough decision to hang up the boots, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stay in KC and be a part of this amazing club,” he told The Chronicle in 2015.
Gruenebaum is the founder of Union 30, a local goalkeeper training service in Kansas City.
Yael Averbuch West
FC Kansas City midfielder, 2015-2017
New York City-born Yael Averbuch West honed her soccer skills as a teenager in Montclair, New Jersey, where she was named both a NSCAA All-American and USYSA All-American. She played for the United States at every level of the youth national teams, from the U-16 women’s team in 2002 until the U-23 women’s team in 2008.
At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she joined the Tar Heels and scored 26 goals. While still at college, she was honored by the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
After graduating, she played for two New York women’s soccer teams (Sky Blue FC and Western New York Flash) before heading to Europe and spending time with WFC Rossiyanka in Moscow, Russia, and Kopparsberg/Goteborg FC in Gothenburg, Sweden. She returned to the U.S. to play for the Washington (D.C.) Spirit, and following a short loan to a Cypriot team, she signed to FC Kansas City in 2015.
Averbuch told The Chronicle in 2015 that when she travels to new places, she will seek out the local Jewish community.
“I can travel anywhere on the planet, and I am not alone,” she said.
In 2018, she signed to the Seattle Reign, but only played in one game due to ulcerative colitis. After her retirement from playing, she began serving as general manager of Gotham FC in New York, where she still works today.
Gadi Kinda
Sporting Kansas City attacking midfielder, 2020-2023
Gadi Kinda (z”l), an Ethiopian-born Israeli soccer player, developed his soccer skills in Ashdod, Israel, where he joined the city’s F.C. Ashdod in 2011. He played for them for eight years before transferring to Beitar Jerusalem F.C.
In 2020, he joined Sporting Kansas City, for which he scored 14 goals despite missing the 2022 season due to knee surgery.
He told The Chronicle in 2022 that he was excited that Kansas City would be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“I think it’s a welcome move that such a huge tournament is coming to Kansas City,” Kinda said. “As a player here, I was very excited to hear that. I’m happy for the club and for the city, and I’m sure it’s going to be a big celebration… The city really loves soccer.”
Kinda returned to Israel to play for Maccabi Haifa in 2024. From 2021 to 2024, he also played for the Israel national team.
In May of 2025, Kinda died at age 31 from an undisclosed illness.
