Born in 1896 in Damascus[1] to a family of Kabyle origin,[2] Zouaoui studied at a madrasa as his father opposed him learning French, the language of the colonizers.

[1] As a co-founder of Espérance Sportive de Tunis (EST) in 1919,[3] Zouaoui initially served as vice-president in the club's first executive board.

Later, with Louis Montassier's appointment as president, Zouaoui became a regular board member, despite his initial reluctance to be part of a committee led by a French national.

[1] Zouaoui played for EST for 12 years and briefly held a symbolic leadership role for a few weeks in 1925 to fill the vacancy left by Chedly Zouiten, who had traveled to France to study medicine.

[4] In 1928, Zouaoui became a merchant in Lafayette before working for a major trader in Souk El Attarine.