One of Sporting Kansas City’s newest player is Gadi Kinda, an Ethiopian Israeli who most recently played for Beitar Jerusalem Football Club. (Olivia Brestal, Sporting KC)Sporting Kansas City announced last week that the soccer club has acquired 25-year-old central midfielder Gadi Kinda (pronounced GAH-dee KINN-dah) on a one-year loan from Beitar Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League. He arrives in Kansas City after starring as one of the Israeli Premier League’s best players during the first half of the 2019-20 season.Kinda’s loan comes with an option for Sporting to exercise a permanent transfer at the end of 2020. He will occupy an international spot on Sporting’s roster.“Gadi is a central midfielder who plays box to box and has a great engine,” Sporting Kansas City Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes said. “He has good attacking qualities in the final third and his defensive responsibilities are very well engrained in him. We think Gadi will fit well into the way that we play and look forward to welcoming him to the team.”Born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Kinda moved to Israel with his Jewish family when he was 3 years old. He grew up in the port city of Ashdod and entered the FC Ashdod Academy as a youngster. In addition to being the club’s first Ethiopian-born player, Kinda is also the first Israeli to join Sporting. He holds dual citizenship in Ethiopia and Israel.Kinda has played over 200 matches in Israel since turning professional in 2011 at age 17. Before his move to Sporting, the playmaker ranked fourth in the Israeli Premier League with a team-best seven goals while also leading the side with four assists.The 5-8, 145 pounds midfielder Beitar Jerusalem in February 2019 and played a leading role in the club’s turnaround over the last year, starting in 30 of 31 appearances in all competitions. After finishing 11th in the 2018-19 regular season table, Beitar Jerusalem currently occupies third place in the Premier League and won the 2019-20 Toto Cup Al last September with a 2-0 win over reigning champions Maccabi Tel Aviv.Kinda spent the first seven and a half years of his professional career at FC Ashdod. He developed as a youth in his hometown club’s academy prior to landing an Israeli Premier League debut in September 2011 as a 17-year-old. He became a regular starter for Ashdod during the 2013-2014 campaign, notably scoring his first top-fight goal in a 3-2 defeat of Israeli giants Maccabi Haifa in September 2013.On the international stage, Kinda has represented Israel at the U-18, U-19 and U-21 levels. He featured in qualifying matches for the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship as well as the 2015 and 2017 editions of the UEFA Under-21 Championship. Kinda has yet to earn his first cap for the Israeli Men’s National Team but was selected to the senior squad for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying last fall.Sporting will open the MLS campaign on Feb. 29 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC before hosting the Houston Dynamo in their Children’s Mercy Park home opener on March 7. You can follow Kinda on Instagram @gadikindaa.
