Sami El Morabet (born 19 May 2009) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Jong Genk.
Club career A native of Alken, El Morabet is a product of the KRC Genk youth system. He signed his first contract, a three-year deal, in June 2024. El Morabet helped KRC Genk win the U18 Elite league title in 2025–26 after losing just one match all season.
El Morabet was promoted to Genk's reserve side, Jong Genk, ahead of the 2026–27 Challenger Pro League season. He was a starter in their first pre-season friendly, a 7–0 win over on 11 July 2026. El Morabet started again four days later in another pre-season win over RWDM Brussels.
International career El Morabet was born in Belgium and has Moroccan roots, thus making him eligible to represent Belgium and Morocco at the international level. By 2026, he had been approached "multiple times" by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to commit to Morocco. El Morabet has represented his birth country of Belgium at the under-15, under-16, and under-17 levels. He also earned a call-up to the Morocco under-16s in 2024.
El Morabet was first called up to the Belgium U17s by manager Sven Vermant in October 2025 for European Under-17 Championship qualification. He was then selected to play the European Under-17 Championship, held in Estonia in May and June 2026. El Morabet started in Belgium's 2–1 semi-final win over France, securing their place in the final of the competition for the first time in the nation's history. The win also avenged their semi-final loss to France the previous year. Belgium finished as runner-ups after losing in the final to Italy via penalty shoot-out. According to RTBF, El Morabet "stole the show" throughout the competition, starting in all five matches. He was subsequently named to the Team of the Tournament.
Player profile El Morabet is considered a versatile defender who has been employed both as a left-back and a right-back. His under-18 coach at Genk, Eric Reenaers, said he epitomized the "modern full-back".
In 2025, El Morabet was described as an "offensively minded and technically skilled right-back who can cover the entire flank".
Honours Belgium U17 UEFA European Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2026
KRC Genk U18 Elite champion: 2025–26
Individual UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2026
References
External links RBFA profile