UCFB lecturer Richard Flash offers an academic insight into the importance of migration across several different international teams at UEFA Euro 2024.

Take a look at what he said below...

Seventeen

The 17th men’s UEFA European Championships (Euro2024) kicked off on Friday June 14th. The host nation Germany played Scotland and won 5-1. The ‘Player of the Match’ Jamal Musiala, who also scored, is coincidently Germany’s 17th Black international. His mother is White, German and of Polish descent, his father is Black and Nigerian. Musiala was born in Germany as a result of the migration that brought his parents into the country. Identifying migration in a footballer’s ancestry has become easier through modern media sources. Indeed, 11.4% of players at the 2018 FIFA World Cup represented a country in which they were not born (figure 1), and this increased to 16.5% in 2022.

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Figure 1: Percentage of FIFA World Cup players representing a country in which they were not born

During the build up to Euro2024, there was a reminder of the racial conflict that Germany’s Black players face from their own fans. The results of a survey by German broadcaster ARD, stated that 21% of Germans would prefer to see more White players in their national team. This statistic represents the view of a minority, but Germany’s Black players have been historically targeted with racial abuse from German fans.

Notwithstanding the possibility of receiving racist abuse, Jamal Musiala’s performances saw him selected in UEFA’s Team of the Tournament. He is the only German and one of seven Black players in UEFA’s best eleven. The latter is no mean feat, considering that Black players comprised 13.5% of Euro2024 squads. With migration clearly visible in the ancestry of the seven Black players, this article celebrates these magnificent seven.

 

The Magnificent 7

1. Mike Maignan (France)

Born in French Guiana to a Haitian mother and a Guadeloupean father, he has Caribbean ancestry. Les Bleus number one migrated with his mother to France and acquired French nationality at the age of six. The AC Milan star was one of three Black goalkeepers in the French squad. He conceded only one goal up until the semi-final against Spain. France’s loss against the eventual winners was his 22nd international cap.

2. Kyle Walker (England)

Despite not performing to his brilliant best, he’s the only England player selected in the Team of the Tournament. The right-back won his 83rd England cap against Iceland just before Euro2024. In doing so, he surpassed Raheem Sterling (82 caps) to become England men’s second most capped Black player of all-time. Named as the Three Lions vice-captain, he has Caribbean ancestry through his father who migrated to England from Jamaica. He now has 90 caps.

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Kyle Walker is the only England player named in the Euro2024 Team of the Tournament

3. Manuel Akanji (Switzerland)

Despite his penalty miss against England, his stellar performances warranted his selection in UEFA’s best eleven. His mother is Swiss and a former professional tennis player. His father worked in finance before migrating from Lagos to Switzerland. The Manchester City star has the middle name 'Obafemi', named after the former Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins. He played until the quarter-final stage and now has 65 caps.

4. William Saliba (France)

The central defender was born in France to Cameroonian and Lebanese parents. Hence, his performances for France are a result of his parents migrating from Africa and the Middle East. He was signed by Arsenal in 2019 for £27m. Last season he became Arsenal’s first outfield player to play 90 minutes, in all 38 Premier League matches. One of France’s success stories, Saliba ended Euro2024 on 21 caps.

5. Lamine Yamal (Spain)

Named as the Young Player of the Tournament, he was born in Spain to parents who migrated from Equatorial Guinea & Morocco. Hence, he is of African descent. He entered Euro2024 as a 16 year-old and left as a 17 year-old with the world at his feet. His performances returned one goal and four assists. No player has set up more goals in a single European Championships. He won his 14th cap for Spain in the final and set up Spain’s first goal.

6. Nico Williams (Spain)

Spain’s 11th Black international was born in the Basque region to Ghanaian parents. He is the younger of the two William’s brothers. His elder brother Inaki chose to represent Ghana. Inaki’s story of his parents migration through the Sahara desert is a must read. Both brothers played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for their respective national teams. Nico won his 20th cap for Spain when scoring in the Euro2024 final against England.

7. Jamal Musiala (Germany)

He was a Chelsea academy player and won 19 England caps at youth level. But he left London to sign for Bayern Munich and decided to represent Germany as a senior international. He was one of five Black players selected in the German squad. All five were born in Germany directly as a result of migration by one or both of their parents.

Musiala scored three goals which saw him share the Golden Boot and boost his selection for the ‘Team of the Tournament’. His tournament ended in a 2-1 loss against Spain, where Spanish-born Dani Olmo opened the scoring. Olmo himself scored three tournament goals and also made UEFA’s best eleven. Furthermore, Olmo has Croatian ancestry from his mother’s family, therefore he is identified as the eighth player of migrant descent in UEFA’s select team. So regardless of the discriminatory views stated in the ARD survey, or the racist behaviour of some fans across Europe, the majority of Euro2024’s best eleven (72.7%), including Germany’s best player were powered by migration.