Ali Ahmed

Ali Ahmed (born October 10, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a wide midfielder or winger for club Norwich City and the Canada national team.

Early life Ahmed was born in Toronto to Ethiopian parents and grew up in Lawrence Heights. His mother, Muna Isa, enrolled him in a wide range of extracurricular activities from a young age, including swimming, basketball and tutoring, hoping to give him opportunities she had not had growing up. Ahmed has said that although he was drawn more strongly to basketball as a child, spending many evenings watching or playing pickup games, his mother held him to his earlier commitment to soccer and insisted he continue attending training even when reluctant, a discipline he has credited as foundational to his later career. Ahmed has said the club's coaching staff were impressed with his performance during the trial, but that he was unaware at the time that international players needed to be 18 to complete a permanent move, which prevented a signing. In 2021, he played with the Vancouver Whitecaps U-23. 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.

Vancouver Whitecaps On April 22, 2022, he joined the first team on a short-term four-day loan ahead of their MLS league match against Austin. 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 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.

Norwich City On January 4, 2026, Ahmed moved to England, signing for EFL Championship side Norwich City on a three-and-a-half-year deal with an option for a further year.

He made his debut for the club on January 17, 2026, starting the match and providing an assist within the opening 10 minutes against Wrexham. He scored his first goal for Norwich three days later in a 5–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. On January 26, 2026, he recorded a goal and an assist in a 2–1 victory against league leaders Coventry City. In a pre-season friendly against Osasuna ahead of the 2026–27 season, Ahmed suffered an ACL injury with the player expected to miss much of the forthcoming campaign.

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. He scored his first goal for Canada in a friendly against Romania on September 5, 2025.

In May 2026, Ahmed was named to Canada's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ahmed helped Canada reach the semifinals of the 2024 Copa América in the country's first appearance at the tournament. Ahmed is of Oromo descent, and has said his parents' move to Canada was driven partly by a desire to give their children opportunities unavailable to them growing up.

International

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.

+ List of international goals scored by Ali AhmedNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 September 5, 2025 Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania 18 2–0 3–0 International Friendly

Honours Vancouver Whitecaps Canadian Championship: 2023, 2025

Individual Canadian Championship Best Young Canadian Player: 2023