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 plays for the Malta national team.
 Chouaref with Sion in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 December 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Châteauroux, France | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | 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 | 142 | (22) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | France U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | Malta | 12 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:26, 17 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editChouaref 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
editBorn 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]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 17 May 2026[7]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| LB Châteauroux | 2018–19 | Ligue 2 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | Ligue 2 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 2 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | National | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 73 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 76 | 4 | ||||
| FC Sion | 2022–23 | Super League | 32 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | 2[b] | 0 | 38 | 2 | |
| 2023–24 | Challenge League | 35 | 6 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 39 | 7 | |||
| 2024–25 | Super League | 37 | 6 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 6 | |||
| 2025–26 | Super League | 38 | 9 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 42 | 10 | |||
| Total | 142 | 22 | 15 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | 159 | 25 | |||
| Total | 215 | 26 | 18 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 235 | 29 | |||
International
edit- As of match played 5 June 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malta | 2025 | 8 | 0 |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 0 | |
Personal life
editHis elder brother Hamza Sakhi is also a footballer.[8][9]
Notes
edit- ↑ includes Coupe de France and Swiss Cup
- ↑ appearances in Swiss Super League Relegation play-off
References
edit- ↑ "Le Havre vs. Châteauroux - 4 December 2018 - Soccerway". Soccerway.
- ↑ "Cette fois c'est officiel, Ilyas Chouaref passe professionnel à Châteauroux !". MaLigue2. 1 October 2019.
- ↑ "Ilyas Chouaref est valaisan !" (in French). Sion. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ↑ Diallo, Mouhamed (12 June 2020). "Une pépite marocaine de 19 ans dans le viseur de l'AS Saint-Etienne".
- ↑ Malta National Teams Press Conference 🇲🇹 ⚽ | Malta National Teams Press Conference 🇲🇹 ⚽ | By Malta Football Association – 1900 | Facebook. Retrieved 18 February 2025 – via facebook.com.
- ↑ "Malta-Finland | European Qualifiers 2026 | UEFA.com". Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ↑ "Ylyas Chouaref Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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
edit- Ilyas Chouaref at Soccerway
- Ilyas Chouaref at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Ilyas Chouaref at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)