The Swiss Connection: Football, Migration, and Kosovar Diaspora Nation-Building

Departing from the “double-eagle affair” at the World Cup 2018, this article analyses several dimensions of the “Swiss connection” between football, migration and Kosovar diaspora nation-building in the early 21st century. After a massive influx of Kosovar refugees during the 1990s, the Kosovar community in Switzerland included around 200.000 people in the early 21st century. Some of them founded migrant football clubs, and a number of players with Kosovar roots even pursued international careers as professionals. Two of them, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, caused quite a stir when celebrating their goals as Swiss national players against Serbia at the 2018 World Cup with the hand gesture of the Albanian double-eagle. Yet, the Kosovar “Swiss connection” in football has several other dimensions: The admission of Kosovo to FIFA and UEFA wasn’t only supported by the Swiss Football Association (and indirectly by the Swiss government’s favourable stance regarding Kosovar independence), but even more so by Swiss national players with Kosovar roots. The newly established national team of Kosovo profited from players brought up in Switzerland as well as a Swiss coach, whilst on the other hand several key players of the Swiss national team of the early 21st century were of Kosovar extraction. This, together with the good performance of immigrant teams such as FC Kosova Zurich helped to change the hitherto rather negative image of Kosovar migrants in Swiss society, whilst at the same time initiating processes of self-reflection about Switzerland’s quality as a multicultural immigrant society.