Gadi Kinda, an Israeli soccer player who spent four seasons with Sporting Kansas City between 2020 and 2023, died on May 20 at age 31.
His current team, Maccabi Haifa FC, announced on social media that they mourn his death. Earlier in May, the team shared that Kinda was hospitalized for “a complex medical battle.” In response to learning of Kinda’s health, Sporting KC shared a photo on May 10 of the team posing with Kinda’s jersey. On May 14, he appeared in a video from his hospital room in which he asked viewers to “keep praying for me.”
Kinda was born in 1994 in Ethiopia, immigrating to Israel as a child and subsequently playing for Israel Premier League soccer teams F.C. Ashdod and Beitar Jerusalem. In 2020, he joined Sporting Kansas City, for which he scored 14 goals and made 16 assists over the course of 64 games.
While in Kansas City, he participated in a soccer clinic hosted by Jewish Experiences in April of 2022. He later told The Chronicle that he was excited that Kansas City would be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Kinda returned to Israel to play for Maccabi Haifa from 2024 until his last game in late March. From 2021 to 2024, he also played for the Israel national team.
Kinda is survived by his wife, Liran, and two daughters.