Bosnia: United By Football—Almost

After almost 20 years, Bosnia-Herzegovina is in the headlines again. The country torn apart in the brutal war of the nineties is now united behind their heroes and looking forward to tonight's match against Nigeria, a match that could decide their World Cup destiny. 

Have years of bad news from this Balkan country been finally cast aside by 11 men and football pitch? Not quite. Or at least, it’s not the whole story. 

The country is indeed gripped by euphoria. The streets of Sarajevo are decorated in blue, yellow and white. Everyone is wearing country colors: scarves, T-Shirts, flags—two different kinds; one with a yellow triangle surrounded by stars on a blue background, the other a design of golden lilies on a blue shield against a white background—anything that can identify them with their heroes. From Tuzla in the north to Bihac in the west to Zenica in middle, it’s the same.

But not in Mostar. The eastern part of the city shares the country’s euphoria and anticipation, counting down the seconds until tonight’s match. The souvenirs are out there too. But meters away, across the city’s main boulevard, things are different. There are decorations and celebrations here too, but suddenty it’s the red and white chequers of Croatia. 

Mostar, the biggest city in Herzegovina in the southern part of the country, was almost completely destroyed in the war. The city was divided and Croats turned the stadium into a concentration camp for Bosniak Muslims. More than one-third of the city's population, then around 100,000 people, fled to western or northern Europe, as well as to the United States, Canada or Australia. When the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed in 1995, the war ended, splitting the city into two: Croats living in the West;  Bosniaks in the east. The wall was never built, but you can almost feel it. The people are divided. 

It’s similar in Banja Luka, the largest city in Republika Srpska. The political entity, which handles its own legal and constitutional matters, was created by the Dayton Agreement following the ethnic cleansing in the 1990s. The Bosnian-Serbs living there do not support Bosnia-Herzegovina: they support Serbia. Although Serbia missed out on this year’s World Cup, their feelings haven’t changed. Tonight, you won’t see people gathering in the cafes and bars of Banja Luka to watch the game between Nigeria and Bosnia. 

Bosnia-Herzegovina is an extremely complex country, with three different ethnicities and three different religions existing side by side. Huge divisions remain. It’s something football can't solve.

Yet football has helped in some ways: Since 2003, the top division in Bosnian football has been comprised of all three ethnicities. There are no longer separate Serb-Croat, Bosnian and Croatian divisions. Though animosity between the different groups has often led to violence, things are beginning to settle  in; for the most part, the league is a normal, functioning sports body. When the league was introduced, people hated it. These days, they accept it and understand it’s here to stay. Even if they don’t consider themselves to be passionate supporters of the league, they are supportive of the idea of it. 

So football has moved on in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and for those who support the national team, the World Cup effort has brought joy. As with the league, those who don’t support the team don’t tend to be hostile towards it. They don’t hate it. They are beginning to accept it. The last bulwark of nationalism is left to the politicians, who continue to get rich at the expense of their own people, promoting the concept of “divide and conquer” through nationalistic rhetoric. The cancer of politics and politicians can’t be cured by football.  But the people, well, maybe some of them can be, just a little. 

Yes, football helps, football unites, but, as always with Bosnia-Herzegovina, things are not black and white. And probably never will be.