Khalifi is a talent following in the footsteps of Boussoufa.

Sep 27, 2026

Young Moroccan player Yassine Khalifi, who is with Sporting Charleroi, has just turned 21, but in a few weeks, he has established himself as one of the standout discoveries of the Belgian club at the start of the current season.

Khalifi joined Sporting Charleroi in the summer of 2025 from French club Lille, and he had to wait a long time before securing a spot as a key player in coach Mario Konnan's lineup.

The Moroccan international began his career in Marrakech, his hometown, before joining the Mohammed VI Football Academy, where he received his training. He then moved to Union Touarga, where he played for nearly a year, before transferring to Lille for two seasons, relying on patience and hard work.

Like many young Moroccans, Khalifi discovered football in the streets with his friends. He recalls, “I have great memories from that time. That’s how I was able to develop my technical skills in tight spaces.”

A friend encouraged him to take this path, as he was playing at a club at the time. Khalifi participated in several tournaments across Morocco, quickly attracting attention. At the age of twelve, he underwent a trial at the Mohammed VI Football Academy and succeeded, leaving Marrakech for Rabat. He remembers that phase, saying, “At first, it was tough. The nights felt long away from my family,” but being close to other academy residents helped him cope with the distance from his family.

At the academy, Khalifi was particularly close to Yasser Zabbiri, the rising star at Racing Santander, and Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, a player at Stade Rennais. They shared the same dreams, with Khalifi stating, “My dream was to train at the Mohammed VI Football Academy,” where he played two seasons in the hope category, the highest training level offered by the institution.

At sixteen, Khalifi became the youngest Moroccan player called up to the national under-20 team, and a few years later, he celebrated winning the under-20 World Cup in Chile with this team, marking a new milestone in his international career.

The player left the academy at seventeen, moving to Union Touarga to embark on his first experiences in the professional world; this phase was crucial in shaping his character and preparing him for a move to Europe.

Lille represented a new chapter in the Moroccan international's career, as he joined "Domaine de Luchin," the club's training and development center, after being under the watchful eye of the French club's officials for a long time. Over approximately two years, he played consecutive matches with the reserve team before Sporting Charleroi opened its doors to him in the summer of 2025.

Sporting Charleroi gave Khalifi enough time to adapt during the last season before he got his chance. His early days with the team were under the radar, yet he scored a qualifying goal in the Belgian Cup against RFC Liège last January, despite his playing time still being limited. A few weeks later, during the "Walloon Derby" at the Mambourg Stadium, he took advantage of the absence of Yassine Titraoui and Étienne Kamara to showcase his abilities.

Since the start of the season, Yassine Khalifi has become one of the key pillars in the team's midfield. After establishing himself as a main player, the young Moroccan has proven to be one of the effective engines at Sporting Charleroi.

If there is a player Khalifi looks up to in Belgium, it is undoubtedly Mbark Boussoufa. Khalifi, who has been a fan of the former Moroccan international since he was young, does not hide his admiration, saying, “I want to shine in Belgium, like Mbark Boussoufa; he was my role model when I was younger.”

This ambition adds a special dimension to Khalifi's journey in Belgium; from Marrakech to Charleroi, passing through the Mohammed VI Football Academy, Union Touarga, and Lille, Khalifi continues to carve his path based on patience and hard work, focusing on following in the footsteps of the great Moroccan names that have made a distinctive mark in the Belgian league.