Issam Chaouali

Issam Chaouali (عصام الشوالي) born 25 September 1970 in Toulouse, France, is a Tunisian journalist and sports commentator for the Qatari channel beIN Sports MENA since 2009. He is the most famous and popular commentator in the Arab world. He comments on the most important summit matches in the world, the European and African championships.

Career
After graduating from philology, he started his career in 1995 at Radio Jeunes until he joined the Télévision Tunisienne in 1998. In 2001, he joined the Arabic-language station ART (Arab Radio and Television Network), where he gained great fame. He commented on his first match in 1998 and it was a UEFA Champions League match between Real Madrid and Inter Milan. After the ART station was taken over by Al Jazeera Sports in 2009, Chawali became one of the most outstanding Arab commentators. Currently, like most other leading Arab reporters, he is associated with the beIN Sports MENA.

Style
Chawali is characterized by courage and directness in his commentary. However, it may be difficult for a non-Arabic speaking person to understand. In his statements, he often intertwines words from various languages, especially French, and uses a lot of the Tunisian Arabic. In some situations he is quite eccentric, he can suddenly switch from simple speech to singing.