“J’ai totalement confiance en mon équipe!” Des filles issues de la migration s’engagent dans le football en Suisse romande

Abstract

This article is based on ethnographic research conducted with female soccer players of mi-grant background playing in three 4th league teams in French-speaking Switzerland. We present a reflection on the participation and sustainable commitment of these young women in soccer, both in its sporting and associative dimensions. In Switzerland, there are few or no policies for integration through sport, as can be found in other European countries. The integration of girls in soccer clubs is itself the object of little support and attention from sporting institutions. We explore what drives female players to invest in this activity con-sidered as subaltern when it is played by women and girls. The article highlights several reasons for their commitment, emphasizing the importance of the collective and of the af-fective ties within the teams as well as the social recognition that comes with it. We also show how women players engage in the situation and with the obstacles encountered in their practice to develop their agency and their resources by testing new forms of social co-operation and conflict.