Youssef Chani, eternal flame
The Moroccan’s heart has been beating to the rhythm of sport since he was a child. A passion that, according to his family, will stay with him until his final breath. Profile of this 55-year-old reporter and host of several sports programmes by Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy.
“Not an attitude, but a passion!” When it comes to the flame that ignites the passion within his friend, Youssef Chani, Reda Allali, a columnist with the former’s sports programme, Bombonera, on Radio 2 M, is resolute: “Youssef lives and breathes Moroccan football culture! He works throughout the week on the national championship, has coffee with a former international player on Saturdays, and attends a local match on Sundays!”
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A love of the game since childhood. “When Youssef was young, he played the role of journalist and we were the players invited onto his TV show. He would tell us what we had missed during the match,” recalls, Mounia, his older sister, still amused by the memory. Her younger brother concurs: “I always had this desire within me! At 18, I started writing articles for newspapers and, in 2010, when I heard about the launch of Radio Mars, the first sports radio station in Morocco, I carried on learning on the job.”
His passion is first and foremost “an unpaid hobby”. After completing a baccalaureate in accounting, he followed his parents’ advice and obtained a master’s degree in management. Despite becoming a commercial and logistics manager at a company, this lifelong Raja Casablanca fan continues to talk about training, cool down sessions, the latest transfer window news and much more on Radio Mars. “Thanks to the radio station, I've been to Mali, Sierra Leone and Guinea following Raja (editor’s note: a Moroccan football club). I have visited countries I never imagined I would go to. The warmth I felt from people when visiting these places was a really pleasant surprise,” recalls Youssef Chani.
"Adaptable and full of good humour"
Russia, Qatar, Côte d'Ivoire... Since 2016, this consultant-turned-senior reporter for Radio 2 M, and now full-time journalist, has had many more trips following the Moroccan national football team, nicknamed the Atlas Lions, in particular during the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the Africa Cup of Nations. Stoking the embers of his passion... During his programmes (Sportissimo, Bombonera), we see him with glasses perched on his nose, a focused presenter, before transforming into a commentator in lively debate with his guests. But laughter is never far away... “Youssef is always passionate! In three years of broadcasting, despite the stress of day-to-day production at a large radio station, I cannot recall any moments of tension. He knows how to be adaptable and full of good humour,” says Reda Allali.
An autodidact, Youssef Chani loves to learn from colleagues in other countries. At the International Agora for Journalism in Tours (25 to 30 March 2024, France), he used his warm radio voice to encourage his young colleagues to “take initiative”. He already sees himself covering the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris with CFI. For two years, Youssef has been passing on his all-round sports passion in Morocco with “Radio Sport”, a workshop for children: “I carried out an interview with a female basketball player from the national wheelchair team. She talked about her disability, which she said was not an insurmountable obstacle preventing her from realising her dreams. The children applauded. It was really moving.” A first Olympic spark?
In ten years…
“Having his own media outlet, his own sports channel!” In 10 years, some of his family see Youssef Chani becoming his own boss. This former commercial and logistics manager politely disagrees: “I don't have the entrepreneurial spirit... Actually, in 10 years, I see myself still being a journalist, but maybe in another country or as the editor-in-chief of a large sports radio station, creating realistic programmes and reaching as many people as possible.” His older sister, Mounia, could easily see him as “Head of Programming. But, whatever happens, he will still love sport, it’s a passion that will stay with him until his final breath!”
Reda Allali, who has known him for about 15 years and has worked with him on podcasts about Raja Casablanca, imagines Youssef expanding his horizons in 10 years: “He is open to the world and passionate about history and current affairs. So he could also make other podcasts. Here in Morocco, football gives quite a good window from which to view society...” With his “passion for contemporary Moroccan history and sincerity with his listeners,” Youssef Chani is not necessarily against this future proposition.
Youssef Chani talking to Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy - CFI ©