Sadi Jalali (born 6 June 1995) is a former professional soccer player who last played as a forward for

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Born in India, he represented Canada at youth international level.

Career

Early career

Born in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India to Afghan parents, Jalali moved to

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

when he was only one year old. He then moved to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

when he was three years old and then to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

when he was five years old. While growing up, Jalali played soccer, basketball, and volleyball. He started playing club soccer for Millwoods Soccer Association. He then spent three seasons at Edmonton Juventus before spending six months with the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency Whitecaps FC Academy ( sponsor name Whitecaps FC BMO Academy) is the youth system of the professional soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It fields a men's and women's team in the semi-professional League ...

FC Edmonton

After spending time with

as a reserve player, Jalali signed a professional contract with the

side on 20 February 2013. He then made his professional debut for Edmonton in a league match on 13 April 2013 against the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

WakeMed Soccer Park WakeMed Soccer Park is a Association football, soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It consists of a purpose-built, Soccer-specific stadium, soccer-specific main stadium named "First Horizon Stadium", two lighted practice footba ...

, in which he came on as a 74th-minute substitute for Michael Cox as Edmonton went on to lose the match 2–1. In September 2014,

announced Jalali had signed a contract extension to keep him at the club. In July 2016 FC Edmonton released him.

International

Jalali is eligible to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

(through his parents). Due to him representing Canada at the under-17 level meant that he had given up his Indian passport to acquire a Canadian one, thus he can not represent

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

unless he gives up Canadian citizenship. Jalali represented the Canada U17 side for the first time during the

2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship The 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship determined the four CONCACAF representatives to advance to the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. Jamaica staged the championship between 14 and 27 February. The United States defeated Canada 3–0 in the ...

in which he made his debut for Canada on 17 February 2011 against Barbados' U17s and even scored his first international goal in that match as Canada went on to win 8–0. Jalali would eventually win a silver-medal in that tournament as Canada finished in 2nd place behind the United States. He would then go on to represent Canada at the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 14th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was h ...

in which he scored for Canada against England's U17s on 22 June 2011 in a match that would end 2–2 and thus Canada's chances of advancing out of the group in the top 2. Jalali was named to the

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA S ...

squad that went to the 2014

Milk Cup SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of ...

, where he scored a goal in the second game of the tournament against China.

Personal life

Legal trouble

In August 2016 Sadi and his brother Saidkheyam were arrested by members of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team in separate traffic stops. Investigators alleged the pair were in possession of cocaine, cash, and a 9-mm handgun.

Career statistics

References

External links

FC Edmonton Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalali, Sadi 1995 births Living people Men's association football forwards Canada men's youth international soccer players Canadian people of Afghan descent Canadian men's soccer players FC Edmonton players Afghan men's footballers North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Sportspeople from New Delhi Soccer players from Richmond, British Columbia Sportspeople of Afghan descent 21st-century Canadian sportsmen