From Ethiopia to Israel and now in KC, here’s how Sporting’s Kinda discovered soccer

A bright white smile flashes momentarily at Children’s Mercy Park. His head is just inches off the ground at one point, his feet splayed high in the air.

Sporting Kansas City fans love Gadi Kinda’s goal celebrations.

He never quite lands the flip, typically falling to the ground with his arms spread wide as teammates dog-pile on top of him and the partisan KC crowd howls with joy.

One of Sporting KC’s most exciting players since arriving in 2020, Kinda is well-known for his soccer ability ... and ability to celebrate with abandon.

Off the pitch, however, Kinda is a relatively reserved sort who arrived in Kansas City just months before the pandemic made connecting on a personal level difficult. Few outside of the club know much about Kinda’s background.

A communication barrier is partly to blame. Having spent most of his life in Israel, Kinda’s first language is Hebrew. He only recently started learning English.

But with COVID-19 restrictions loosening and a translator on hand, Kinda shared his origin story.

Leaving Ethiopia

Less than three weeks ago, Sporting KC fans took great pleasure in watching Kinda shrug off Cristiano Ronaldo as Israel played Portugal in an international friendly.

He’d out-dueled one of the best players in the history of the sport.

“It was a great experience,” Kinda said, flashing a smile.

The 27-year-old midfielder whose last name rhymes with “Linda” is proud to play for his national team, but he wasn’t born in Israel. He spent the first years of his life growin up in a Jewish household in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city.

In the 1990s, Kinda’s Ethiopian-Jewish family dreamed of immigrating to Israel. By this time, such migration was becoming more practical and commonplace. For years, reaching Israel had called for treacherous passage through unforgiving desert.

“It was forbidden,” Kinda said. “It was an underground situation to move.”

In 1999, when Kinda was 3, his parents relocated the family — themselves, Kinda, his four brothers and two sisters — to the Holy Land.

Kinda doesn’t remember much about the move, or his time in Ethiopia. He also recalls little about losing his father three years later.

“The oldest brothers, it was hard, but I was too young to understand it,” he said. “I’m sure that it was hard.”

What he does remember is who filled the void left by his father’s death: his 23-year-old brother, Beny.

“I’d say that he is like the second father in the house and he tried to help everybody, because it was a hard situation,” Kinda said. “It’s not easy to lose your father.

“He tried to help and to take care of everybody and to help with my mother. It was very hard for her.”

Discovering soccer

Not long after their dad’s passing, Beny introduced Kinda to organized soccer.vBy age 6 he was heavily involved with Ashdod FC, the local club.

“I knew that was what I wanted to do from when I was a kid,” he said. “It was going to school, coming back from school, and go out and play football until the night.”

When he was 15, a serious abductor injury kept him sidelined for almost half a year — a long time for a kid yearning to play the sport he loved. Kinda managed by delving into his faith.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to stop, or give up football and go to the religion, or keep fighting,” he said.

Then, and now, Judaism played a large role in Kinda’s life. He observes Shabbat, reserving Saturdays for rest and biblical study. On this holy seventh day of the week, he’s unable to drive, work or use technology.

“At that point, when you get more into religion, it’s more like a lifestyle,” he said.

A teammate persuaded Kinda to stick with soccer, shuttling him to practice, reminding him it was OK to dream.

Soccer remains remains a huge part of Kinda’s life. As does Judaism.

“It will always be a part of my life,” Kinda said of his faith, “because I grew up like this, and my family like this, in my house.”

Coming to America

Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes first learned of Kinda through one of his scouts. Vermes could tell immediately that Kinda had what he called the “It Factor.”

Entering his prime then at age 25, Kinda had spent his whole life playing in Israel — seven years with Ashdod FC, one with Beitar Jerusalem.

His ultimate goal was to play in Western Europe, where he could remain close to his family.

“I didn’t think about MLS when I played in Israel,” he said. “I didn’t know so much about it. But I was excited a little bit ...”

Two things eventually convinced him to come to America: a conversation with Vermes and research about SKC, and the fact that his wife, Liran, wanted to live in the United States.

“Oh, she is really big, like the religion — even more big!” Kinda laughed, reflecting on how much his wife means to him.

Just 39 minutes into his debut with Sporting KC, Kinda introduced himself to his new fans with a stunning goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Children’s Mercy Park.

Kinda went on to score six goals with four assists in 2020, earning MLS Newcomer of the Year honors. He has three goals and an assist in eight appearances in 2021, and scored his first goal for the Israel national team June 5.

Off the pitch, Kinda is enjoying American culture. By the second half of the interview for this story, he was speaking in English as much as he was Hebrew.

“I’m happy here — I’m happy to be here,” he said. “I’m happy about the soccer and about the life here, and I want to stay here for a long time and win some trophies.”

This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 11:16 AM with the headline "From Ethiopia to Israel and now in KC, here’s how Sporting’s Kinda discovered soccer."