| Full name | Christel Ginette Kompany |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 March 1984, Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Known for | President of BX Brussels football club |
| Parents | Pierre Kompany and Joseline Fraselle |
| Spouse | Zouhaier Chihaoui |
| Siblings | Vincent Kompany, François Kompany |
| Role | President and director, BX Brussels |
Christel Kompany is a Belgian football club official who has served as president of BX Brussels since the club’s formation in 2013. She is the older sister of former Belgium captain Vincent Kompany and has been the central figure in the governance of a project that combines youth football with social support for young people across the Brussels region.
Her role at BX Brussels is well documented in Belgian media and official club records, and it goes well beyond a symbolic family connection. French-language reporting on the club describes her as managing its structure “de main de maître(sse)” — meaning with a firm and capable hand — and refers to her plainly as “la présidente.”
Her Role at BX Brussels
BX Brussels was established in 2013 after Vincent Kompany purchased and restructured FC Bleid-Molenbeek, rebranding it as a social-sport project for young people from less advantaged neighbourhoods in Brussels. While Vincent is the owner and founder, it is Christel who leads the club operationally as president and chairwoman.
The club’s mission is to make football accessible to young Bruxellois regardless of their background or which of the city’s nineteen communes they come from. Christel has described the approach clearly: “Nous n’avons aucune frontière… Le BX, ce sont 19 communes” — the club has no borders, and it belongs to all nineteen Brussels communes.
Beyond the sporting side, the project places a strong emphasis on education and social development alongside football, aimed specifically at young people who might not otherwise have access to a structured club environment.
Belgian corporate documentation for the club lists Christel formally as a director and administrator, holding 208 shares in the entity. Her governance role is therefore not just a title — she sits on the board and holds a formal stake in the club’s company structure. A VRT report on BX Brussels explicitly identifies her as the club’s chairwoman, reinforcing that her position is recognised across both French and Dutch-language Belgian media.
Cancer Diagnosis and Recovery
Before taking on the BX Brussels presidency, Christel faced a serious personal health challenge. Belgian reporting documents that she was diagnosed with cancer at around age 20. She subsequently recovered, and her illness and recovery form part of the backdrop to her later public role. No further clinical details have been reported publicly.
The Kompany Family Behind the Club
BX Brussels is consistently described as a family project. Alongside Christel as president, her father Pierre Kompany is named among the driving figures in the club’s social-sport mission. Her younger brother François Kompany, himself a footballer, is also involved in the initiative. Vincent Kompany — as owner and founder — provides the project’s most recognisable name, but club documentation and press coverage make clear that Christel holds the formal governance role.
Their mother is Joseline Fraselle, and the family’s Congolese-Belgian roots are well known from wider coverage of the Kompany name. For those interested in how family background shapes public roles, resources like First Business Mag explore how personal history and leadership intersect in careers built around community impact.
Personal Life
In June 2013, around the same time BX Brussels was being established, Christel married Zouhaier Chihaoui, a Tunisian lawyer who works at the European Court of Human Rights. Chihaoui is noted in Belgian reporting for winning a case that resulted in Belgium and Greece being condemned over their treatment of refugees.
Christel was born on 15 March 1984 in Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium, making her the eldest of the Kompany siblings. Her full registered name, as it appears in official Belgian company records, is Christel Ginette Kompany.
