Ameer Ala'a Kadhim Kinani (; born April 20, 2001) is an Iraqi

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays for

Oman Professional League The Oman Professional League (; known as the ''Omantel Professional League'' for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the Omantel Elite League, is the top division of the Oman Football Association, and was officially created in 1976. Curren ...

side

Al-Khaburah Club Al-Khaburah Sports Club () is an Omani professional football club based in Al-Khaburah, Al Batinah Region, Oman. The club currently plays in the Oman Professional League, top division of Oman Football Association. Their home ground is Sohar Regio ...

Early life

Born in Iraq, Kinani moved to Canada at age seven, where he began playing youth soccer with FC Emery (formerly known as Tecnico Ambato FC). He later played youth soccer with York Jets SC and

Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which ...

Collegiate career

In 2019, he began attending

George Brown College The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public, fully accredited college (Canada), college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, George ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. On October 14, 2019, he scored four goals in the final twenty minutes of a 6-1 victory over the Cenntenial Colts, a performance which earned him George Brown's Athlete of the Week honours. In September 2022, he began attending

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. On October 1, he scored a brace against the

Royal Military College Paladins The RMC Paladins () are the athletic teams that represent Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its facilities include the Kingston Military Community Sport Centre (KMCSC) with seating for 3,737, the Navy Bay fields with ...

for his first goals. On October 16, he scored a hat trick against the

Laurentian Voyageurs Laurentian (French: ''Laurentides'' or ''Laurentien'') may refer to: *Relation to Saint Lawrence Geography North America * Laurentide Ice Sheet, the continental glacier covering much of North America during the Pleistocene Epoch *Relating to the Sa ...

. On October 29, he scored the winning goal in the 90th minute on a penalty kick to give TMU a 2-1 victory over the

Carleton Ravens The Carleton Ravens are the athletic teams that represent Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. The most notable sports team for Carleton is the men's basketball team. In men's basketball, the Ravens have won 16 of the last 19 national men's ...

in the OUA semi-finals. In his first season with TMU, he helped them win an OUA silver medal, and a fifth place finish at the U SPORTS national championship.

Club career

In 2020, he joined Spanish club

Cartagena FC Cartagena Fútbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the autonomous community of Murcia. They were formerly called UD Cartagenera. Founded in 1940, they are focused on youth football, and hold home games at ''Ciudad Deport ...

in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. In September 2021, he joined Atlético Benidorm in the Preferente Valenciana. However, soon afterwards, he returned to Canada, due to the expiry of his Spanish visa. In 2022, he played with

ProStars FC Prostars FC is a Canadian soccer team based in Brampton, Ontario. The organization was founded in 2013. The club previously played in the semi-professional League1 Ontario, part of the third division in the Canadian soccer league system in both ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

. He was named an honourable mention on the year-end all-stars team list. In December 2022, he was selected second overall in the

2023 CPL-U Sports Draft 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

Vancouver FC Vancouver Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The club is based in Langley, British Columbia (district muni ...

. After attending pre-season with the club, he signed a U Sports developmental contract with the club, allowing him to maintain his university eligibility. He made his professional debut on April 15, in a substitute appearance against

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

. He scored his first goal on June 20, in a 2-0 victory over

Forge FC Forge FC, also known as Forge Football Club, Forge FC Hamilton, or Hamilton Forge FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadia ...

, also recording an assist in the match on the first goal of the match. Upon the expiry of his U Sports deal in August, he extended his contract for the remainder of the 2023 season. In August 2024, he signed with

Iraq Stars League The Iraq Stars League (), is the highest level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Iraqi Premier Division League. It is governed by the Iraqi Pro League Associa ...

club

Duhok SC Duhok Sports Club (, ) is an Iraqi professional sports club, based in Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Founded in 1970, the club competes in the Iraq Stars League. Duhok SC's biggest rivals are also their neighbours Zakho, producing passionate ...

. In January 2025, he moved to

club

Al-Khaburah Al-Khaburah () is a Wilayah (province) in Al Batinah North Governorate, Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land bord ...

International career

In 2018, a highlight reel that he posted online attracted the attention of the

Iraq Football Association The Iraq Football Association (IFA) () is the governing body of football in Iraq, controlling the Iraq national football team, Iraqi national team and the Iraqi football league system. The Iraqi Football Association was founded in 1948 and has be ...

and he was called up to the Iraq U19 a trial, where he participated in multiple friendlies. He was then called up for the

2018 AFC U-19 Championship The 2018 AFC U-19 Championship was the 40th edition of the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia. It took place in Indonesia, which was ...

. In December 2022, he attended a camp with the

Canada national futsal team The Canadian national futsal team represents Canada in international men's futsal competitions. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. Their first FIFA sanctioned international was playe ...

, making his debut in the Canadian program.

Personal

Kinani is the son of former Iraq national team player

Alaa Kadhim Alaa Kadhim Jabur Al-Kinani (; born 1 July 1970) is an Iraqi football striker who played for both the Iraq and Talaba SC Al-Talaba Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. Its football team competes ...

Career statistics

References

External links

Ameer Kinani
at La Preferente * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinani, Ameer Living people 2001 births Iraqi men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Iraqi expatriate men's footballers 21st-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Iraqi sportsmen Cartagena FC players Tercera División players ProStars FC players League1 Ontario players Vancouver FC players Iraq men's youth international footballers Canadian men's futsal players Vaughan Azzurri players Duhok SC players Al-Khaburah Club players Vancouver FC draft picks Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol players Canadian Premier League players Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Oman Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Oman University and college men's soccer players in Canada