Ilias Chair

Ilias Emilian Chair (born 30 October 1997) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays for Championship club Queens Park Rangers.

Ilias Chair
Chair playing for Queens Park Rangers
Personal information
Full name Ilias Emilian Chair[1]
Date of birth (1997-10-30) 30 October 1997
Place of birth Antwerp, Belgium
Height 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) [2]
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Queens Park Rangers
Number 19
Youth career
Club Brugge
0000–2015 JMG Academy Belgium
0000–2015 Lierse S.K.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Lierse S.K. 2 (0)
2017– Queens Park Rangers 48 (5)
2019 → Stevenage (loan) 16 (6)
National team
2018– Morocco U23 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 July 2020 (GMT)

Early life

Chair was born in Antwerp in Belgium.[3][4]

Club career

Early career

Chair began his career in the youth system at Lierse S.K.[5] He also spent time at the academy of Club Brugge, as well as the JMG Academy Belgium.[6] Chair made his professional debut for Lierse at the age of 17, playing in the Belgian Second Division, when he came as a 76th-minute substitute in Lierse's 1–1 away draw at Coxyde on 9 August 2015.[7][8] He subsequently started his first match a month later, on 9 September 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 home defeat to Cercle Brugge.[7][9]

Queens Park Rangers

Chair went on trial at Championship club QPR in January 2017.[5] During the trial period, he scored in a 3–1 friendly win for the U23s against Bournemouth.[5] He subsequently signed for QPR on a permanent basis on 31 January 2017.[5] Chair was added to the club's Elite Development Squad and spent the remainder of the 2016–17 season playing for the club's U23 team.[5]

Having impressed QPR manager Ian Holloway in training,[2] Chair was named as a substitute in club's first round EFL Cup tie against Northampton Town at Loftus Road on 8 August 2017.[10] He replaced Luke Freeman in the 63rd minute of the match to make his first-team debut.[7][10] Chair made his first starting appearance for QPR in a 1–0 defeat against Preston North End at Deepdale on 2 December 2017.[11] He signed a two-year contract extension with the club on 9 February 2018, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2020.[12] He scored his first goal for the club during QPR's final home game of the 2017–18 campaign on 28 April 2018, scoring a volley at the far post as QPR overturned a one-goal deficit to win 3–1 against Birmingham City.[13] Chair made seven first-team appearances during the season, scoring once.[14]

Having made eight appearances for QPR during the first half of the 2018–19 season,[15] Chair joined League Two club Stevenage on a loan deal for the remainder of the season on 31 January 2019.[16][17] He made his Stevenage debut in the club's 1–0 victory over Yeovil Town at Broadhall Way on 2 February 2019, playing the full match.[18] Chair scored his first goals for Stevenage by scoring two long-range efforts late-on in a 2–2 away draw at league leaders Lincoln City on 16 February 2019.[19] A month later, on 12 March 2019, he scored from within his own half in Stevenage's 2–0 home win against Swindon Town.[20] Chair was nominated for League Two Player of the Month for March 2019 having contributed four goals and four assists.[21] During his brief time at Stevenage, Chair impressed immensely and was involved in 8 of the side's 12 goals since his arrival.[22]

Upon his return to QPR, he signed a new three-year contract with the club in September 2019.[23] Under new manager Mark Warburton, Chair became a key player for QPR at the start of the 2019/20 season.

International career

Chair was born in Belgium and is of Moroccan descent.[3] He was called up to the Morocco U20 squad for a week-long training camp in Rabat in June 2017.[3] Chair represented the Morocco U23s in a 1–0 friendly defeat to the Senegal U23s on 23 March 2018.[24]

Career Statistics
As of match played 4 May 2019
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lierse S.K. 2015–16[7] Belgian Second Division 2000000020
2016–17[7] Belgian First Division B 0000000000
Total 2000000020
Queens Park Rangers 2017–18[14] Championship 4110200071
2018–19[15] Championship 4020200080
2019–20[25] Championship 324202100365
Total 405506100516
Stevenage (loan) 2018–19[15] League Two 166——00166
Career total 61115061007212
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References
  1. "Club list of registered players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. "QPR Profile – Ilias Chair". Queens Park Rangers F.C. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. "Ilias Chair set for Morocco Under-20 training camp". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. "Ilias Chair - Queen's Park Rangers - Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. "Under-23s add Belgian attacker to ranks". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  6. "JMG Football – Ilias Chair". JMG Academy. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. Ilias Chair at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  8. "Coxyde 1–1 Lierse". Soccerway. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  9. "Lierse 2–3 Cercle Brugge". Soccerway. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. "QPR 1–0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  11. "Preston North End 1–0 QPR". BBC Sport. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  12. "Ilias Chair: QPR midfielder signs new contract until 2020". BBC Sport. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  13. "QPR 3–1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  14. "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  15. "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  16. "Stevenage sign Byrne on permanent deal and four players on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  17. "Ilias Chair joins Stevenage on loan". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  18. "Stevenage 1–0 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  19. "Lincoln City 2–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  20. "Stevenage 2–0 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  21. "Ilias Chair nominated for PFA Player of the Month". Stevenage F.C. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  22. @StevenageFC (9 April 2019). "Ilias Chair since signing... Played 11 games. Contributed towards 8 of 12 total team goals. 4 goals. 4 assists" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. "Ilias Chair: QPR midfielder signs new three-year contract". BBC Sport. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  24. "Chair features in Morocco U23 defeat". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
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