François Affolter (born 13 March 1991) is a Swiss professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defender for Biel-Bienne in the

Swiss Promotion League The Promotion League, named the YAPEAL Promotion League for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Swiss football league system. Eighteen clubs compete in the league, playing each other twice over the course of the season. The champions are ...

. He was part of the Swiss team at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Career

Young Boys

Born in

Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; , ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Biel/Bienne (administrative district), Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Swi ...

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, He made his senior debut for

BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

at the age of 17 years on 14 September 2008 in a 2–1 victory over

AC Bellinzona AC Bellinzona is a Swiss football club based in Bellinzona. It was founded in 1904, and won the Swiss Super League in 1948. After being folded in 2013 declaring bankruptcy, the team played the Ticino Group of 2.Liga, the sixth tier of the Swi ...

, replacing Marc Schneider in the starting eleven due to suspension. Since that match, he was a regular starter for the club in their three-man defence, alongside Saif Ghezal and Miguel Alfredo Portillo. Before he played with the first team, he played with the under 18 team. They won the under 18 championship the same year. Then, he joined the first team for friendly matches in the summer of 2008 and the new Young Boys coach Vladimir Petkovic gave him his chance. He signed his first professional contract with Young Boys in November 2008. After three seasons with Young Boys, he was loaned to German club

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

. After an unsuccessful half year at Young Boys, he decided to transfer to Swiss side

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league syste ...

for an undisclosed fee. His contract was set to expire in June 2018.

San Jose Earthquakes

On 21 July 2017,

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

announced it had signed Affolter to a multi-year contract on a free transfer from Luzern. He made his first appearance for San Jose on 9 August, starting in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

and substituting out during extra time in the 103rd minute. He made his first MLS start and appearance on 12 August in a 3–0 loss to the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

BBVA Compass Stadium Shell Energy Stadium (formerly BBVA Compass Stadium, BBVA Stadium, then PNC Stadium) is an American multi-purpose stadium located in Houston, Texas that is home to Houston Dynamo FC, a Major League Soccer club, the Houston Dash of the Nation ...

FC Aarau

In February 2020, Affolter joined

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the winners of the league are promoted to the Super League, while the ...

side

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss football club based in Aarau. They play in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local ...

until the end of the 2019–20 season.

Chiasso

In September 2020,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Affolter signed with

FC Chiasso FC Chiasso is a Swiss football club based in Chiasso. It was founded in 1905. Chiasso also played in the Italian first league between 1914 and 1923. The team's most glorious period was between 1948 and 1961, when the team was promoted to the ...

, also of the Swiss Challenge League.

Return to Biel-Bienne

On 29 December 2021, Affolter returned to his youth club Biel-Bienne on a 2.5-year contract.

Personal life

Affolter received his U.S. green card in July 2018, which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Career statistics

Club

References

1991 births People from Biel/Bienne Sportspeople from the canton of Bern Living people Association football defenders Swiss men's footballers Switzerland youth international footballers Switzerland under-21 international footballers Switzerland international footballers FC Biel-Bienne players BSC Young Boys players SV Werder Bremen players SV Werder Bremen II players FC Luzern players San Jose Earthquakes players FC Aarau players FC Chiasso players Swiss Super League players Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players Swiss Challenge League players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Switzerland Swiss expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate soccer players in the United States Swiss expatriate sportspeople in the United States {{Switzerland-footy-defender-stub