1. Jaba Kankava has been twice recognized as Georgian Footballer of the Year.
17 Facts About Jaba Kankava
1. 2.
Jaba Kankava was born on 18 March 1986 in Tbilisi to Nana and Gia Kankava, and has one older brother, Levan.
3.
Jaba Kankava played football from a young age, joining Vake 91 when he was six in 1992.
4.
Jaba Kankava played eight years there under the management of Guram Chomakhidze before moving to Dinamo Tbilisi at the age of 14.
5.
In 2004, Jaba Kankava started his football career with Dinamo Tbilisi, where Gia Geguchadze was just appointed as head coach.
6.
Geguchadze started to create a new club with youngsters and Jaba Kankava became a main member of them.
7.
In 2007, Jaba Kankava agreed to sign a three-year contract with league rival Dnipro.
8.
Newly arrived Jaba Kankava was among the starting squad from the first games but received a red card against Dynamo Kyiv because of a tough tackle and missed several games and was among the bench players.
9.
Jaba Kankava won the silver medals of the Ukrainian league in 2014.
10.
The next season Jaba Kankava played in a dramatic Europa League final against Sevilla, which was his last appearance for the club.
11.
On 22 November 2018, Jaba Kankava signed a new two-year contract with FC Tobol.
12.
On 8 September 2004, Jaba Kankava made his debut for Georgia against Albania in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification.
13.
On 27 January 2022, Jaba Kankava announced his retirement from international football after appearing in 100 matches, captaining Georgia 62 times, however he came out of retirement to feature in Georgia's qualifiers for Euro 2024.
14.
Jaba Kankava's decision was widely hailed as unselfish and exemplary.
15.
On 30 March 2014, Jaba Kankava saved the life of Dynamo Kyiv captain, Oleh Husyev, after Husyev was briefly knocked unconscious in a collision and swallowed his tongue which blocked his airway.
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Jaba Kankava reacted immediately by sticking his fingers in Husyev's mouth to dislodge his tongue and clear his airway.
17.
On 12 April 2014, before Dnipro played Metalurh Zaporizhya at the Dnipro Arena, Jaba Kankava was awarded the Order of Merit for his actions in Dnipropetrovsk.