Ameer Kinani

Ameer Ala'a Kadhim Kinani (أمير علاء كاظم الكناني; born April 20, 2001) is an Iraqi footballer.

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.

College career
In 2019, he began attending George Brown College, 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, where he played for the men's soccer team. On October 1, he scored a brace against the Royal Military College Paladins for his first goals. On October 16, he scored a hat trick against the Laurentian Voyageurs. 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 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 in the Tercera División.

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 in League1 Ontario. 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 by Vancouver FC. 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. He scored his first goal on June 20, in a 2-0 victory over Forge FC, 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.

International career
In 2018, a highlight reel that he posted online attracted the attention of the Iraq Football Association 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.

In December 2022, he attended a camp with the Canada national futsal team, making his debut in the Canadian program.

Personal
Kinani is the son of former Iraq national team player Alaa Kadhim.