Ahmed Mazen Ahmed Al-Hijazi Al-Ghamdi (Arabic: أحمد الغامدي; born 20 September 2001) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Al-Ittihad and the Saudi Arabia national team.
.jpg) Al-Ghamdi playing for Saudi Arabia U23 in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ahmed Mazen Ahmed Al-Hijazi Al-Ghamdi | ||
| Date of birth | 21 September 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Ittihad | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Blaise Academy | |||
| Rino's Tigers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | Pacific FC | 8 | (1) |
| 2020–2024 | Al-Ettifaq | 49 | (1) |
| 2024 | → Al-Ittihad (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2024– | Al-Ittihad | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019–2021 | Saudi Arabia U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2022– | Saudi Arabia U23 | 13 | (5) |
| 2023– | Saudi Arabia | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 January 2023 | |||
Personal life
editBorn in Jeddah, his family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia when Al-Ghamdi was one year old. When he was 18, he was accepted into the University of British Columbia. In addition to his love for football, he also enjoys basketball, having played basketball for his high school team, which he attributed to have helped him to develop his football career.[1]
Club career
editEarly career
editBefore turning pro, Alghamdi spent several years with Blaise Soccer Elite Academy in Vancouver.[2][3] Alghamdi joined Vancouver Metro Soccer League side Rino's Vancouver SC as a fourteen-year-old and played three seasons of senior amateur soccer with the club's Rino's Tigers team while playing with Blaise Academy in the summer.[2]
Pacific FC
editOn 1 May 2019, Alghamdi made his professional debut for Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC, and was officially announced as a signing two days later.[4][5] He scored his first professional goal on July 1 against Cavalry FC.[6] On 23 January 2020, the club announced it would allow Alghamdi to pursue playing opportunities in Saudi Arabia.[7]
Al-Ettifaq
editIn January 2020, Al-Ghamdi signed a five-year contract with Saudi Professional League side Al-Ettifaq.[8] He made his debut for Al-Ettifaq against Al-Qadsiah on April 10, 2021.[9] On 31 January 2022, Al-Ghamdi renewed his contract with Al-Ettifaq until the end of the 2026–27 season.[10] On 21 May 2022, Al-Ghamdi scored his first goal for Al-Ettifaq in a 5–2 win against Al-Hazem.[11]
Al-Ittihad (loan)
editOn 28 January 2024, Al-Ghamdi joined Al-Ittihad on a six-month loan.[12] On 4 February 2024, Al-Ghamdi made his debut for Al-Ittihad as a 75th substitute in a 4–0 win in the King Cup quarter-final match against Al-Faisaly.[13] On 7 February 2024, Al-Ghamdi made his league debut in the 3–0 win against Al-Tai.[14] On 16 March 2024, Al-Ghamdi made his first start as well as score his first goal for Al-Ittihad in the 4–2 win against Al-Fateh.[15] Al-Ghamdi ended his loan spell at Al-Ittihad making 15 appearances in all competitions and scoring two goals as well as recording two assists.
Al-Ittihad
editOn 4 June 2024, Al-Ghamdi joined Al-Ittihad on a permanent deal.[16]
International career
editBorn in Saudi Arabia and raised in Canada, Al-Ghamdi is a dual citizen and was eligible to play for the Saudi Arabia or Canada national team.[17]
In July 2018, Al-Ghamdi was called up by the Saudi Arabia U-19 team for an evaluation camp ahead of the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship, but was not selected for the final squad.[2] In July 2019, Alghamdi was called up by the Saudi Arabia U-20 team for a pair of friendlies against Bahrain and Tajikistan.[18]
In November 2019, Al-Ghamdi was called up for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship qualification tournament. On 6 November, he started and scored a penalty for Saudi Arabia in a 1–0 win over Afghanistan.[19][20] On 8 November, he came on as a substitute in a 4–0 win over India.[21][22]
Al-Ghamdi was called up to the Saudi Arabia U-23 team for the first time in 2022 for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. He started in the final and scored the first goal in the 48' minute to give the falcons the lead, the match ended 2–0 and Saudi Arabia won their first AFC U-23 Asian Cup title.
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 27 May 2024[4]
| Club | Season | League | King Cup | Asia | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Al-Ettifaq | 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| Al-Ittihad (loan) | 2023–24 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| Career totals | 59 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 3 | |
Honours
editSaudi Arabia U23
Individual
- WAFF U-23 Championship Best Player: 2022
- Saudi Pro League Rising Star of the Month: March 2024
References
edit- ^ "Ahmed al Ghamdi: From Canada to Saudi Arabia, now shining at al Ittihad".
- ^ a b c "Rino's Vancouver SC Player Joins Saudi Arabia Youth National Team". Rino's Vancouver SC. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "Rino's Vancouver SC on Twitter". twitter.com. Rino's Vancouver SC. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Ahmed Alghamdi". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "Pacific FC signs 17-year-old midfielder Ahmed Alghamdi". Pacific FC. 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "HIGHLIGHTS: Pacific stuns Cavalry in wild back-and-forth Spring finale". 1 July 2019.
- ^ @Pacificfccpl (23 January 2020). "Pacific FC announced the club has agreed to have Ahmed Alghamdi pursue playing opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Alghamdi played for the Saudi Arabia U-20 national team last summer" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 January 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ @Ettifaq (27 January 2020). "إدارة نادي #الاتفاق تتعاقد مع لاعب الوسط أحمد الغامدي لمدة 5 سنوات" [Al-Itifaq club management has contracted midfielder Ahmed Al-Ghamdi for a period of 5 years] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Al Ittifaq vs. Al-Qadsiah - 10 April 2021 - Soccerway". 10 April 2021.
- ^ "الاتفاق يجدد عقد لاعبه الغامدي حتى 2027".
- ^ "بخماسية .. الاتفاق "ينتفض" ويوقع صك هبوط الحزم".
- ^ "الاتحاد يكمل صفقة الغامدي".
- ^ "AL FAISALY VS. AL ITTIHAD 0 - 4".
- ^ "AL TAI VS. AL ITTIHAD 0 - 3".
- ^ "المرة الثانية.. الاتحاد يلتهم الفتح "رايح جاي"".
- ^ "رسمياً.. الاتحاد يفعل بند شراء الغامدي من الاتفاق - عاجل". 4 June 2024.
- ^ "Ahmed Alghamdi is Juggling School, Soccer and the Ball as He Turns Pro at 17". 2 May 2019.
- ^ "Ahmed Alghamdi Gets Saudi Arabia U-20 Callup". Northern Tribune. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia 1–0 Afghanistan". AFC. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Uzbekistan flex muscles, Saudi Arabia edge Afghanistan". AFC. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "India 0–4 Saudi Arabia". AFC. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan notch key wins". AFC. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
External links
edit- Ahmed Al-Ghamdi at Soccerway