Jaba Kankava

Jaba Kankava

Personal information
Full name	Jaba Kankava
Date of birth	(1986-03-18) 18 March 1986
Place of birth	Tbilisi, Georgia
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Reims
Number	4
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Dinamo Tbilisi	14	(0)
2005	Alania Vladikavkaz	12	(0)
2005–2006	Arsenal Kyiv	24	(4)
2007–2015	Dnipro	91	(4)
2010–2012	→ Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (loan)	37	(2)
2015–	Reims	27	(0)
International career‡
2002–2003	Georgia U17	3	(0)
2003-2004	Georgia U19	5	(0)
2004–2006	Georgia U21	8	(0)
2004–	Georgia	61	(7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 May 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 May 2016

Jaba Kankava (Georgian: ჯაბა კანკავა) (born 18 March 1986) is a Georgian footballer. He currently plays in Midfield for Reims, having previously played for Dinamo Tbilisi, Alania Vladikavkaz, Arsenal Kyiv and FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Career

In 2004 Jaba Kankava Started his football career in Dinamo Tbilisi, where Gia Geguchadze was just appointed as head coach. He started to create a new club with youngsters, so Jaba became a main member of them. In his first year, Kankava won Georgian Cup, and played successfully on European League. He scored the winning goal against Slavia Prague and qualified Georgians most titled Club - Dinamo, on group stages of Uefa league. After a successful season in Dinamo, Jaba moved to Alanya Vladikavkaz and played 12 matches. In 2005, Kankava changed club and signed a contract with Arsenal Kyiv. He played 24 matches and scored 4 goals. in 2007, Jaba agreed to sign a 3-year contract with new club Dnipro. Newly arrived Kankava was among the starting squad from the first games but he was fouled and given a red card against Dynamo Kyiv because of a tough tackle, so he missed several games and was among the bench players. After spending 8 years in Dnipro, he played 91 matches and scored 4 goals. From 2015, Jaba is the member of Ligue 1 club - Reims.

International career

Kankava played 5 games in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying and 9 games in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying. He also played 2 friendlies i 4 in 2006, 2 in 2007 and 2 in 2008.

Kankava scored a goal against Croatia in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying.

International goals

Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 March 2006	Ta' Qali National Stadium, Attard	Malta	2–0	2–0	Friendly
2.	16 November 2007	Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha	Qatar	1–0	2–1	Friendly
3.	3 June 2011	Stadion Poljud, Split	Croatia	1–0	1–2	Euro 2012 qualifier
4.	6 September 2011	Ta' Qali National Stadium, Attard	Malta	1–0	1–1	Euro 2012 qualifier
5.	14 October 2014	Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé	Gibraltar	3–0	3–0	Euro 2016 qualifier
6.	25 March 2015	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi	Malta	1–0	2–0	Friendly
7.	12 October 2015	Red Bull Arena, Leipzig	Germany	1–1	2–1	Euro 2016 qualifier

Career statistics

International

As of 31 May 2016

National team	Season	Apps	Goals
Georgia	2004	1	0
	2005	6	0
	2006	8	1
	2007	7	1
	2008	2	0
	2009	0	0
	2010	1	0
	2011	7	2
	2012	7	0
	2013	6	0
	2014	7	1
	2015	8	2
	2016	1	0
Total		61	7

European

Club

FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

UEFA Europa League runner-up (1) 2014–15

Awards

On 20 March 2014 Kankava saved the life of Dynamo Kyiv captain Oleh Husyev, after Husyev was dazed in a collision and his tongue blocked his airway. On 12 April 2014 before Dnipro played Metalurh Zaporizhya at the Dnipro Arena, Kankava was awarded the Order of Merit for his actions in Dnipropetrovsk.

External links

• Jaba Kankava – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Jaba Kankava at National-Football-Teams.com
• "Jaba Kankava". weltfussball.de. Retrieved 7 May 2014.