Gadi Kinda, former Sporting Kansas City midfielder, dies at age 31 | OneFootball

Former Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gadi Kinda has died following a weeks-long medical battle, according to his most recent club Maccabi Haifa. He was 31.

Kinda appeared in 64 league matches for Kansas City across the 2020, 2021 and 2023 MLS seasons, scoring 14 times and adding 12 primary assists, according to FBref.com.

He also scored during Kansas City's run to the 2023 Western Conference semifinals, in which Sporting KC became the first No. 8 seed to win a best-of-three MLS Cup Playoff series by sweeping West No. 1 seed St. Louis.

His effectiveness and understated but positive personality quickly made him a fan favorite in Kansas City.

"A pleasure to be with every day," recalled SKC interim manager Kerry Zavagnin, who was an assistant coach during Kinda's SKC tenure. "No matter what the day looked like, he always came in with it with an optimistic view. Everyone from the chefs, the cooks, the cleaning service, the coaches, the rest of the staff, the players, all had a good feeling when they were around him and it shows today in how everyone's taken this tragic news."

Kinda was extremely versatile as a player. Though he was most naturally a central attacking midfielder, he had senior experience at virtually every position outside of the back line.

Return to Israeli league

For his most recent club Maccabi Haifa, Kinda had made 57 appearances across all competitions, scoring five goals and assisting eight more.

He had not played since late March, and gradually it became known that he was combatting an unspecified medical condition that had required hospitalization.

From afar, Kansas City players showed support for their former teammate by posing with his No. 10 jersey for photographers before their May 10 match against the Portland Timbers.

Kinda is the second recent former MLS player to pass away this season. Former FC Cincinnati striker Aaron Boupendza died last month after a fall from his high-rise apartment in China while a rostered player at Chinese Super League side Zhejiang FC.