Issam Chaouali

Issam Noureddine Chaouali is a Tunisian sports commentator at beIN SPORTS. He has covered major Arab and international football leagues and competitions, becoming one of the network’s best-known Arabic voices.

He was born on 25 September and grew up in Bardo, Tunis. At Khaznadar Primary School, French was taught alongside Arabic from the first year, whereas most Tunisian schools introduced it in the third year.

As a child, he practised swimming and judo and took part in scouting. Journeys abroad with the Tunisian Scouts widened his outlook and introduced him to societies beyond his own.

A family environment that valued sport, together with his father’s extensive relationships in Tunisian sporting circles, encouraged him to follow news and learn the history of competition. That knowledge brought several early successes, including the Grand National Prize for Sports Information at a 1981 scouting forum in Monastir.

As his interest deepened, his father’s sporting contacts enabled him to attend major Tunisian national-team matches and the Golden Boot ceremony honouring the country’s best player.

Although he hoped to study law and defend people facing injustice, his secondary-school grades did not permit admission. He considered philosophy, but after several months at university concluded that it did not match his interests. He therefore moved into French literature at the Faculty of Arts in Manouba, near his home district of Bardo.

The decisive change came in 1995 with the creation of Youth Radio, a state station established to discover emerging voices. Only two hours before applications closed, he joined approximately five thousand candidates. The station selected him for its sports department, where Munther Al Jibnani, the department head, and Awatif bin Hamida, the station director, provided important early support.

He also joined the Arab federation’s commentators committee and was named among the region’s most influential figures in two successive years, 2009 and 2010.

Ali Dawoud, who helped open professional opportunities, was a major source of support during this period. One especially happy memory came at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea, when his wife Najwa Talbi received a forty-day assignment as an ART reporter. Working at the same tournament allowed the couple to combine an important professional experience with family life.

Recordings of his Arabic commentary are heard at the Real Madrid and FC Barcelona museums, alongside commentators in other major languages, as visitors encounter the clubs’ most important trophies.

Among the honours that matter most to him are those received in Ramallah and Jerusalem, where he was presented with the Key of Return. He regards it as a particularly meaningful part of his legacy. He was also welcomed and honoured in Sudan, Sétif in Algeria and on several occasions in Libya.

An invitation from the Saudi royal court was among many visits to Arab countries in which sporting institutions and events recognised his work.

He considers himself fortunate to have been surrounded by people who recognised and guided his ability. His wife and fellow broadcaster, Najwa Talbi, provided the greatest support. With the family based in Tunisia, she accepted the demands of his constant travel and long absences and carried substantial responsibility for raising their children.

Professionally, Awatif Hamida helped advance his early radio career, Tawfiq Al Obaidi encouraged him in television and Nasser Al Khulaifi later supported his work at beIN SPORTS.

That support did not make the path easy. Long separation from family and the intense competition of sports broadcasting remained difficult, but his preparation and natural spontaneity helped him overcome those pressures and earn the affection of audiences.

One later project added a historical and human dimension to his record. At the invitation of the family of Tunisian Olympian Mohammed Gammoudi, he recorded Arabic commentary for archive film of the athlete’s 10,000-metre performance at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where Gammoudi won silver. The original event predated the availability of Arabic sports commentary. Giving it an Arab and Tunisian voice decades later was an exceptional experience for Chaouali and honoured an athlete celebrated in the source edition as the first Arab Olympic medallist.