Gélson Fernandes

FC Sion

Fernandes started his football career at FC Sion when he first joined the club at age seven years old. Fernandes was promoted to the first team in 2004 after being called by manager Gilbert Gress. Having previously made a total of five appearances in the 2004–05 season, the 2005–06 season proved to be the breakout year for the player as he got more playing time for Sion, playing in the central midfielder position for the side. Fernandes also led his team win the Swiss Cup in a penalty shootout (5–3) against Young Boys. In his first full season at the club, he went on to make 22 league appearances and scoring none. In the 2006–07 season, Fernandes continued to remain in the first team for Sion, playing in the midfield position. He then scored his first goals of the season, in a 3–1 win against FC Naters in the first round of the Swiss Cup. Fernandes then made his European debut for Sion in a 0–0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen, in a 0–0 draw in the first round of the UEFA Cup first leg. In the return leg, he scored his first European Cup goal against Leverkusen which Sion lost 3–1 on aggregate. On 14 October 2006, Fernandes scored his first league goal for Sion in a 1–1 draw against Luzern. On the final league game of the 2006–07 season, he received a second bookable offense in the 90th minute after receiving a yellow card in a first half, which turned out to be his last appearance for Sion as Sion won 3–0 against St. Gallen. At the end of the 2006–07 season,…

After retiring Fernandes went into football administration. From July 2021 to July 2022, he served as the Vice-president of his former club FC Sion. In April 2022, FIFA announced the appointment of Fernandes as Director Member Associations Africa effective 1 August 2022. In his role as director, his responsibility is to oversee the services to strengthen the growth and development of the African member associations through the FIFA Forward Programme. In March 2023, in his capacity as Director, he took a two-day working visit to Ghana, where he engaged the Ghana Football Association and its stakeholders including the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Parliament of Ghana Select Committee on Youth, Sports and Culture.

Fernandes was eligible to play for Switzerland and Cape Verde. His progress attracted interests from the Switzerland Youth Team, playing from the U16 to U21 sides. On 26 April 2006, he made his Switzerland U21 debut, in a 3–3 draw against Romania U21. Fernandes was captain of the Switzerland U-21 that played against the England U21 side in their Euro 2007 qualifying match, becoming the first player with African roots to do so. He went on to make nine appearances for the U21 side. He made his first full international appearance for Switzerland against the Netherlands on 22 August 2007. Fernandes was named in the Swiss squad for their co-hosting of UEFA Euro 2008. He played in all three of the national side's fixtures in the tournament, as Switzerland were eliminated in the Group Stage. Following the end of the tournament, Fernandes continued to be involved in both friendly and World Cup Qualification matches for the national side. On 28 March 2009, Fernandes scored his first goal for Switzerland, heading in a corner to seal a 2–0 win against Moldova. He then helped Switzerland qualify for the FIFA World Cup after beating Israel on 14 October 2009. In May 2010, Fernandes was called up to the national team squad for the World Cup in South Africa. He scored his first 2010 World Cup goal for Switzerland against eventual winners Spain on 16 June 2010, which Switzerland went on to win 1–0. After this, he was considered as a national hero in Switzerland. However, Switzerland did not…

Fernandes arrived in Switzerland with his mother at the age of five from the Cape Verde islands, the family settling in Sion, as his father, Jose, works for FC Sion as a groundskeeper. Regarding on his nationality, he said: "That is important to me. Look at me, you know immediately where I come from. This is my culture, this is where my roots are. By the way, there is not a single day that I am not on the other side of the ocean for a few moments travel. A little Zouc or Funana, and I'll take off. In moments like this, nothing can disturb me." Fernandes natively speaks Portuguese, the official language of his birthplace, Cape Verde. In addition to speaking Portuguese, Fernandes also speaks Creole, French, German, Italian, Spanish and English. He began learning Mandarin Chinese in 2017, stating it's “for fun”. Fernandes also the cousin of the footballers Manuel Fernandes, Adilson Cabral, Edimilson Fernandes, Elton Monteiro and Ulisses Garcia. Fernandes is married to his wife, Tiffany, and they have a daughter, Sienna. He has another daughter in a previous relationship.