Ilias Chair is a Belgian-born Moroccan soccer player currently plying his trade with England’s second-tier side Queens Park Rangers (QPR) and Morocco national team as an attacking midfielder. The 27 year-old was born and raised in Belgium to a Moroccan father and a Polish mother.
Chair developed a passion for football at a young age, but it never occurred to him he would make a career out of it. Uncertain of what lies ahead for him in a Belgian city known for crime, his family, football, and God were his inspiration.
This inspiration guided him to pursue a career in football which kicks off at the Club Brugge and JMG Academy in Belgium, but he failed to pass through Club Brugge’s grade system. The opportunity to play professionally came when Lierse gave him the chance at 17. When he turned 19, QPR signed him after he impressed the club during his trial period. He has passed through the club’s development system to one of the finest player-makers at the club.
Below is everything you need to know about him.
Who Is Ilias Chair?
He was born Ilias Emilian Chair on 30th October 1997 in Antwerp, Belgium to Abdelkrim and Michalina. His father is from Moroccan, while his mother is of Polish origins.
The 27 year-old Belgian-born Moroccan midfielder grew up as the oldest son of his parents’ five children. He could have had five younger brothers, but his immediate younger brother who was one and a half years old died when Chair was 9. A year later, his mother gave birth to twins boys before welcoming two other boys subsequently.
Chair’s football journey started in his native Belgium, all the way to England, but he didn’t have it on a platter of gold. He worked his way and is getting better with each passing day.
How Tall Is Ilias Chair?
The Moroccan attacking midfielder is of average height. He stands at 5 feet 6 inches (1.72m) tall, and his body weighs 53kg (116lbs). While some think he lacks the height and strength to take on defenders, but, his strength lies in his ability to play and run with ball upfront.
Every Other Interesting Detail You Need To Know About The Belgian-born Moroccan Playmaker
1. His muse was God, family, and football in a city of crime
Ilias Chair grew up in Antwerp, a city with stories of crime; drugs, knife fights, and stealing. However, he didn’t involve in anything that would damage his personality and family reputation. His parents, grandparents, and football helped him not to get caught up in the city’s life of crime. More so, his passion for football and his resolve to play it occupied his mind and thoughts that he had no time for anything.
The attacking midfielder buttressed these in an interview saying, he has always been in love with football too much to think about anything else. His priorities in life have always been football, family, and God.
2. He did not know he was going to be a footballer while growing up
When the Belgian-born Moroccan footballer started playing soccer, he didn’t see a career out of it. A concrete 5 a-side pitch which is little more than a hundred yards from his home was where he started playing football with other kids. At the end of the day, he comes back home with blood on his knees, but always wearing a smile on his face.
According to the playmaker, there is this feeling of freedom when one enjoys doing something so much, one doesn’t see it as a job. However, he started as a hobby transitioned into a career.
3. He struggled at the beginning of his football journey
Chair struggled at the initial stage of his football career which started at the academy level with some Belgian clubs like Club Brugge and JMG Academy Belgium. He failed to get the right grades at Club Brugge, and Lierse brought him into professional football at the age of 17.
Before joining the ranks of England’s second-tier side Queens Park Rangers at 19, Fulham rejected him during a trial. To him, it is all part of the journey as no one had ever truly succeeded without failing at some point. Therefore, one must fail in order to achieve success.
See Also-Youssef En-Nesyri 10 Interesting Facts About The Moroccan Football Star
4. Chair’s memory of his days as a six-year-old boy never fades away
The Moroccan playmaker has a lot of childhood memories that are stuck in his head. The one that stood out among the rest is that of him and his father. He revealed in an interview that whenever his father drops at training and at games, his manager doesn’t play him, and no explanation was given. When he comes out of the changing room after the games, he would see his father sitting alone taking coffee, while the parents of other kids are having beers with the manager.
According to him, that image is still in his head and it never goes away.
5. How the Belgian-born Moroccan attacking midfielder progressed at QPR
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After impressing his coach during the trial period at QPR, the club signed him permanently on 31st January 2017. To further improve his skills, the club added him to their Elite Development Squad where he spent the rest of the 2016/17 season playing for the club’s U-23 side.
Months later, he made his first-team appearance on 8th August 2017 as a 63rd-minute substitute for Luke Freeman in an EFL first-round encounter with Northampton Town. After four months, Chair was in the starting line-up for QPR’s 1-0 away loss to Preston North End.
All this while he never scored for the club, but he finally got a goal during the Rangers’ last game of the 2017/18 EFL season on 28th April 2018. He scored after signing a two-year contract extension two months prior.
The following season, the attacking midfielder was loaned to League Two Stevenage after making eight appearances for Rangers. He remained at the League two side till the end of the 2018/19 season.
During his time at the club, he scored several goals and registered some assists too. And before leaving at the end of the loan deal, Stevenage coach Dino Maarima described him as one of the best players the club and League Two ever had.
Upon his return, he quickly became an important member of QPR after signing a new three-year contract in September 2019. Subsequently, he signed another new four and half year deal in 2021, which will keep him at Rangers until 2025, plus an option for an extra year.
6. The playmaker was handed the Rangers’ famous number 10 shirt
After making his return to the West London outfit from the loan at Stevenage for the 2019/20 season, Rangers handed him the No 10 shirt in September 2020. Many players like Rodney Marsh, Stan Bowles, Kevin Gallen, and Ebere Eze have worn the shirt and attracted a cult following.
Initially, uncertainty rained the air that he was ready to take up such an iconic number. He has accepted the weight of the shirt and has been a consistent week in, week out.
7. He was eligible to play three countries
The 27 year-old Moroccan attacking midfielder until when he started playing for the national team of Morocco, he was eligible to represent Belgium and Poland. How did his eligibility to play for Belgium, Morocco, and Poland? Well, he was born in Belgium to a Moroccan father and a Polish mother.
However, Belgium and Poland didn’t invite him, prompting Morocco to call him up. He represented Morocco’s under-23 team in a friendly match against Senegal under-23 on 23rd March 2018.
His debut for Morocco’s senior national team came in a friendly encounter with Ghana on 9th June 2021.
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