| Ilay Elmkies | |
| Upright: | 0.6 |
| Full Name: | Ilay Eliyahu Elmkies |
| Birth Date: | 10 March 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Nahariya, Israel |
| Height: | 1.72 m[1] |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Bnei Sakhnin |
| Clubnumber: | 6 |
| Youthclubs1: | Beitar Nahariya |
| Youthclubs2: | Maccabi Haifa |
| Youthyears3: | –2015 |
| Youthclubs3: | SV Sinsheim |
| Youthyears4: | 2015–2019 |
| Youthclubs4: | 1899 Hoffenheim |
| Years1: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs1: | 1899 Hoffenheim II |
| Caps1: | 22 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 2020–2022 |
| Clubs2: | 1899 Hoffenheim |
| Caps2: | 1 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs3: | → ADO Den Haag (loan) |
| Caps3: | 9 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs4: | → Admira Wacker (loan) |
| Caps4: | 12 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs5: | 1899 Hoffenheim II |
| Caps5: | 28 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2023– |
| Clubs6: | Bnei Sakhnin |
| Caps6: | 19 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2015–2016 |
| Nationalteam1: | Israel U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2016–2017 |
| Nationalteam2: | Israel U17 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 12 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2018–2019 |
| Nationalteam3: | Israel U19 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2019–2022 |
| Nationalteam4: | Israel U21 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 7 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2019–2020 |
| Nationalteam5: | Israel |
| Nationalcaps5: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 13:10, 16 October 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 2 June 2022 |
Ilay Eliyau Elmkies (or Elmakayes,[2] he|עילי אליהו אלמקייס; born 10 March 2000) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Israeli Premier League club Bnei Sakhnin. He has been capped by the Israel national team.
Elmkies was born and raised in Nahariya, Israel, to an Israeli family of both Mizrahi Jewish and Sephardi Jewish (French-Jewish) descent.[3]
He also holds a French passport, on account of his Sephardi Jewish (French-Jewish) ancestors, which eases the move to certain European football leagues.[4] [5]
Elmkies speaks Hebrew and English and has quickly mastered German. A film looking at the Jewish experience in the German village of Hoffenheim during World War II aired in 2018 at the Sinsheimer Citydome. He played a leading role, and provided commentary in all three languages.
A 1899 Hoffenheim youth product in Germany, Elmkies was promoted to the club's senior reserve team 1899 Hoffenheim II in 2019.[6]
He also plays for the Israel national Under-21 team since 2019.
Elmkies received his first call-up to the senior Israel national team in October 2019 ahead of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers matches against Austria and Latvia. He made his senior debut on 15 October 2019 in a home match against Latvia; he was substituted in the 76' minute, as his native Israel won 3–1.[7]
On 7 September 2020, he scored his first goal – an equalizer in the 91' minute for the senior Israeli squad in a 2020–21 UEFA Nations League home match against Slovakia, that ended in a 1–1 draw.[8]
Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elmkies goal.