Hamza Rafia (; born 2 April 1999) is a Tunisian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Italian club

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

and the Tunisia national team. Born in Tunisia, Rafia initially represented France at youth level, before switching allegiance to his native country, making his senior debut for Tunisia in 2019.

Early life

Born on 22 April 1999 in

Kalaat es Senam Qalat, Qelat, Kalat, Kalaat, Kalut, or Kelat, may refer to: * Qalat (fortress), a fortified place or fortified village Afghanistan * Qalat, Afghanistan, capital of Zabul Province * Kalat, Badakhshan, a small village in the Kuran wa Munjan Dis ...

, Tunisia, Rafia moved to France as a child and played in the youth sectors of Bron Terraillon, Bron Grand Lyon, and

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Club career

Lyon B

Coming through the youth system, Rafia played for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

in the

Championnat de France Amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2 ...

, the fourth division of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the natio ...

. He made his debut on 28 May 2016, during the 2015–16 season, in a 4–3 home defeat to

Moulins Yzeure Foot Moulins Yzeure Football 03 Auvergne, known as Moulins Yzeure Foot or just Moulins Yzeure, is a football club based in Yzeure, France. As of the 2021–22 season, it competes in the Championnat National 3, the fifth tier of the French football ...

. His first goal for Lyon B came during the 2018–19 season, on 18 August 2018, helping his side win 5–2 against Monaco B. Rafia scored five goals in 18 league games throughout the season. In four seasons, he scored five goals in 26 games.

Juventus U23

On 16 July 2019, Rafia joined

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

on a three-year contract, for a fee of €400,000, which can reach €5 million in add-ons, and 20% on his future sale. Rafia played for Juventus' reserve team in the

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

–

Juventus U23 Juventus Next Gen (), also known as Juve Next Gen or Juve NG, is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, which acts as the reserve team of club Juventus. They compete in , and play their home games at the Stadio La Marm ...

– making his professional debut in a 2–0 away loss to

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

in the league on 26 August 2019. On 18 December, Rafia scored his first goal for Juventus U23 in a 2–1 away victory over

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

, in the quarter-finals of the

Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C (), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the competition. It begins i ...

. He helped Juventus U23 win the tournament, scoring against

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria and currently compete in the Serie C. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A ...

in the final, which ended 2–1. During the 2019–20 season, Rafia played 20 games in the league, two in the promotion play-offs, and scored three goals and made three assists in the Coppa Italia Serie C. On 29 November 2020, Rafia scored his first goal in

in a 2–1 away loss against

Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...

Juventus

On 13 January 2021, Rafia made his senior debut for

, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute in a

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

match against

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

; he scored in the 104th minute, helping Juventus win 3–2

after extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

Loan to Standard Liège

On 18 August 2021, Rafia moved to Belgian side

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

on loan.

Loan to Cremonese

On 31 January 2022, Rafia moved to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side

Cremonese Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

Pescara

On 27 January 2023, Rafia signed a 2.5-year contract with

club

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

Lecce

On 18 July 2023, Rafia signed a three-year contract with

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

. He made his top-tier debut in their season opener against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

on 20 August 2023.

Style of play

Rafia is an

also capable of playing as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

International career

Rafia represented France at under-17 and under-18 levels, but decided to represent

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

at senior level. He made his senior debut on 6 September 2019, coming off the bench in a 1–0 friendly win over

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Career statistics

International

Club

Honours

Juventus U23 *

: 2019–20

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafia, Hamza 1999 births Living people People from Kef Governorate Tunisian emigrants to France Tunisian men's footballers 21st-century Tunisian sportsmen Naturalized citizens of France French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Olympique Lyonnais players Juventus Next Gen players Juventus FC players Standard Liège players US Cremonese players Delfino Pescara 1936 players US Lecce players Championnat National 2 players Serie B players Serie C players Belgian Pro League players Serie A players France men's youth international footballers Tunisia men's international footballers Tunisian expatriate men's footballers Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players 21st-century French sportsmen