Ilyas Chouaref

Ilyas Chouaref

Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-12-12) 12 December 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Châteauroux, France
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Sion
Number	7
Youth career
2006–2018	Châteauroux
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2022	Châteauroux II	28	(9)
2018–2022	Châteauroux	73	(4)
2022–	Sion	104	(14)
International career‡
2019	France U19	1	(0)
2025–	Malta	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2025

Ilyas Chouaref (born 12 December 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Swiss Super League club Sion. Born in France, he represents the Malta national team.

Club career

Chouaref is a youth product of LB Châteauroux. He made his debut with them in a 2–1 Ligue 2 loss to Le Havre AC on 4 December 2018. ^[1] On 1 October 2019, he signed a professional contract with the club. ^[2]

On 12 June 2022, Chouaref transferred to Sion in Switzerland. ^[3]

International career

Born in France, Chouaref is of Moroccan and Maltese descent. He was a youth international for France. ^[4] On 18 February 2025, Bjorn Vassallo, president of the Malta FA confirmed that Chouaref had obtained Maltese citizenship. ^[5]

On 21 March 2025, Chouaref made his debut for Malta against Finland in a World Cup qualifying match, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 loss. ^[6]

Personal life

His elder half-brother Hamza Sakhi is also a footballer. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. "Le Havre vs. Châteauroux - 4 December 2018 - Soccerway". Soccerway.
2. "Cette fois c'est officiel, Ilyas Chouaref passe professionnel à Châteauroux !". MaLigue2. 1 October 2019.
3. "Ilyas Chouaref est valaisan !" (in French). Sion. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
4. Diallo, Mouhamed (12 June 2020). "Une pépite marocaine de 19 ans dans le viseur de l'AS Saint-Etienne".
5. Malta National Teams Press Conference 🇲🇹 ⚽ | Malta National Teams Press Conference 🇲🇹 ⚽ | By Malta Football Association – 1900 | Facebook . Retrieved 18 February 2025– via facebook.com.
6. "Malta-Finland | European Qualifiers 2026 | UEFA.com" . Retrieved 21 March 2025.
7. Bouali, Julien Ben (16 January 2021). "Avant AJA-Châteauroux, Sakhi-Chouaref : "Sur le terrain, on est adversaires avant d'être frères"" [Before AJA-Châteauroux, Sakhi-Chouaref: "On the ground, we are adversaries before being brothers"]. Le Berry Républicain (in French). Le Berry (Groupe Centre-France). Retrieved 1 August 2022.
8. "Auxerre - Berrichonne : le match d'une vie pour Hamza Sakhi" [Auxerre - Berrichonne : le match d'une vie pour Hamza Sakhi] (in French). Le Nouvelle Republique. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.

External links

• Ilyas Chouaref at Soccerway
• Ilyas Chouaref at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Ilyas Chouaref at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)