Benali was born in Southampton and attended Bellemoor School. He played for Winsor United in the Southampton Tyro League. At this level he was playing as a forward and was a prolific goal-scorer, being an early developer and quicker and stronger than most footballers of his age. He was selected to represent Southampton and Hampshire Schools, and progressed to the England schoolboy team, scoring on his debut against Northern Ireland and making nine appearances at this level.
Career
Benali made his first team debut on 1 October 1988, coming off the bench against Derby County, in a 0–0 draw at The Dell. His first start came soon after on the 25October 1988 at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur in a 2–1 win. He soon became a mainstay in the Saints team, going on to make a total of 389 appearances for the club, including 243 Premier League appearances. His only FA Premier League goal came on 13 December 1997 with a header from a Matthew Le Tissier free-kick against Leicester City at The Dell. After losing his first-team place to Wayne Bridge, in January 2003, Benali returned to the starting line-up making two league appearances against Sunderland and Manchester United as well as two in the F.A. Cup against Millwall. Although Benali did not appear in the F.A. Cup Final on 17 May 2003, he was awarded a runners-up medal for his two appearances in Round 4. The replay against Millwall turned out to be his final competitive appearance for Southampton. His final appearance in the Southampton first-team came as a substitute in the inaugural Ted Bates trophy match in January 2004 against Bayern Munich. Benali was named as one of "Southampton's Cult Heroes," in a book by Jeremy Wilson in October 2006.
Coaching
In July 2003, Benali joined the coaching staff at St. Mary's and took charge of the under-12 side at the Academy. On the departure of manager Harry Redknapp in December 2005, Benali and Matthew Le Tissier put themselves forward as joint candidates for the vacant position, but were not interviewed by chairman Rupert Lowe. Benali had a two-year spell coaching at Romsey Town first coaching his son Luke in the under-18s before managing the club's reserve side.
Business activities
With Matthew Le Tissier, Benali was the founder in October 2003 of the True Greats website. In 2016, Benali was one of four founders of 73 Management, a football management agency, again along with ex-teammate Le Tissier.
Charitable activities
Benali has been a patron of the following charities:
The Children's Fire and Burn Trust
The Dave Wellman Cancer Trust
In August/September 2014, Benali completed a three-week 1,000-mile challenge running to all 20 Premier League grounds, raising in excess of £100,000 for the charity Cancer Research UK. As a result, he became the first recipient to be awarded with the Spirit of the Game award in December 2014. He was also awarded the Just Giving Celebrity Fundraiser of the Year award in September 2015. In October 2016, Benali completed another ultra-challenge, running and cycling to all 44 Premier League and Championship stadiums in 2 weeks. He ran a marathon and cycled 75 miles each day and in the process raised over £350,000 for Cancer Research UK. Following this, he was awarded the freedom of the city of Southampton. In April 2019 it was announced that Benali would race seven Ironmans in seven days, as part of his aim to raise £1million for Cancer Research UK. Despite being hospitalised, Benali completed five Ironmans, raising £1million. Benali was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to cancer patients in the UK.
