Sadi Jalali (born 6 June 1995) is a former Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who last played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

Career

Early career

Born in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, India to Afghan parents. Jalali moved to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), 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 Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

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

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

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

when he was three years old and then to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

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 is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...

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. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

WakeMed Soccer Park WakeMed Soccer Park is a major soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It consists of a purpose-built, soccer-specific main stadium called Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, two lighted practice fields, and four additional ...

, 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 ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(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 (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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 fi ...

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 fourteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the eleventh played since the change in age limits from under 16s to Under 17s in 1991. It was held in Mexico with games being played amongst various venues ...

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 SN ...

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 Association football forwards Canada men's youth international soccer players Canadian people of Afghan descent Canadian soccer players FC Edmonton players Afghan footballers North American Soccer League players People from New Delhi People from Richmond, British Columbia Soccer people from British Columbia Sportspeople of Afghan descent