Ali Ahmed (soccer)

Ali Ahmed (born October 10, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder or left-back for Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Canada national team.

Early life
Ahmed was born in Toronto to parents from the Oromo Region of Ethiopia. In 2018, he went on trial with the Toronto FC Academy, who were ready to sign him to join the academy, but he opted to head to Portugal to trial with the U19 side of C.F. Os Belenenses, but was unable to sign as he was under 18. He then went to Spain, before returning to Toronto, before returning to Europe to trial in Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. In November 2019, he trialed with the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy and then trialed again the following year, and in August 2020, he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy. In 2021, he played with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23. He attended pre-season camp with the first team in 2021 and 2022.

Club career
In March 2022, he signed a professional contract with Whitecaps FC 2 in MLS Next Pro. He made his professional debut on March 26 against Houston Dynamo 2. He led the team in assists with five in 2022. He was named the 2022 WFC2 Player of the Year.

On April 22, 2022, he joined the first team on a short-term four-day loan ahead of their MLS league match against Austin FC. In the match the next day, he made his official first-team debut. On August 4, he signed another short-term loan with Vancouver. In November 2022, he signed a permanent contract with the first team for the 2023 season, becoming the first Whitecaps FC 2 player to sign a first-team contract. On May 24, he suffered what appeared to be a serious injury in a match, where he lost consciousness and was treated on-field for seventeen minutes, but fortunately was released from hospital the next day with only a concussion. On June 7, 2023, he won the 2023 Canadian Championship with the Whitecaps, defeating CF Montreal and won the tournament's Best Young Canadian Player Award.

International career
In May 2023, Ahmed was listed on the Canada preliminary roster for the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. In June 2023, he was named to the final 23-man squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Ahmed made his debut for Canada on June 27 in their tournament opener against Guadeloupe.

In June 2024, Ahmed was named to Canada's squad for the 2024 Copa América.

Honours
Vancouver Whitecaps
 * Canadian Championship: 2023

 Individual 
 * Canadian Championship - Best Young Canadian Player Award: 2023