Ilyas Chouaref

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Ilyas Chouaref
Chouaref with Sion in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-12-12) 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 151 (24)
International career‡
2019 France U19 1 (0)
2025– Malta 15 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:25, 25 October 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 17:45, 4 October 2026 (UTC)

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.

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]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 October 2026[7]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
LB Châteauroux 2018–19 Ligue 2 11110––121
2019–20 Ligue 2 22210––232
2020–21 Ligue 2 34110––351
2021–22 National 6000––60
Total 73430——764
FC Sion 2022–23 Super League 32141–2[b]0382
2023–24 Challenge League 35641––397
2024–25 Super League 37630––406
2025–26 Super League 38941––4210
2026–27 Super League 92106[c]2–164
Total 15124163622017529
Total 22128193622024833

International

As of match played 4 October 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Malta 202580
202670
Total150

Personal life

His elder brother Hamza Sakhi is also a footballer.[8][9]

Notes

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. "Ylyas Chouaref Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  8. 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.
  9. "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.