Who will Bosnian-Canadians root for when the two teams face off in Toronto
The largest city in the country is home to around 25,000 immigrants from the Balkan nation, and the game is their opportunity to celebrate both sides of their identity
One of the fascinating aspects of a FIFA World Cup in cosmopolitan countries like the United States and Canada is the several diasporas whose imagination is caught when teams from their ancestral lands come to play.
Even if there’s anxiety among the various immigrant groups in the USA owing to the policies of the Trump administration, things are expected to be much more relaxed across the northern border.
Bosnian Canadians would have preferred if the two teams had not landed in the same group, but they are nevertheless excited when they face off in their first match in Toronto on Friday (0030 hours IST).
Toronto is the largest city in Canada with a population of 3.2 million and 6.6 million in the Greater Toronto Area. Among them, around 25,000 would be ethnic Bosnians. In fact, around 85 percent of Bosnians in Canada call Toronto home, explaining the anticipation around the encounter.
“As much as I was born in Bosnia and it is home, Canada is also home. It’s done so much for my family and this community. It’s given us the opportunity to build our lives, support our families, and still support our people back home,” Emina Kapo, the general director of the Bosnian Canadian Association, was quoted as saying in The Globe and Mail.
She was born just over a year after the start of the siege of Sarajevo, the longest military siege of a capital city in modern history – from 1992 to 1996 – during the Balkan war. Her family came to Canada in 2002.
“It’s much more than a game to us. That 90 minutes away from all the hustle and bustle and all the injustice that the world is facing right now in so many ways and everything that we’ve faced as a nation to just feel at peace and forget everything that’s going on and be together and one,” she said.
“We will be partying regardless of what happens, whether it’s a loss, a tie or a win.”
Her association will be hosting events around the match from June 11-13, with Bosnians not only from Toronto, but as far as the USA, Europe and Australia expected to attend.
Brothers Adis and Amir Mrakovic run a store in the city’s West End and on match day, will turn their parking lot into a watch party venue.
“It’ll be a day for people to spend together, eat together and watch the game,” said Adis. “Everybody’s encouraged to cheer for who they want and have a blast,” though they are themselves rooting for a draw, a sentiment shared by several Bosnian-Canadians.
The occasion, they say, lets them celebrate both countries at once. Having it as the first match is just the “icing on the cake”.
“Hopefully, we can promote and show what we’re all about to all of our Canadian neighbours. And then at the same time for any visitors that are visiting Canada, we can show them the Canadian hospitality and have a great time,” Adis said.
One of the fascinating aspects of a FIFA World Cup in cosmopolitan countries like the United States and Canada is the several diasporas whose imagination is caught when teams from their ancestral lands come to play.
Even if there’s anxiety among the various immigrant groups in the USA owing to the policies of the Trump administration, things are expected to be much more relaxed across the northern border.
Bosnian Canadians would have preferred if the two teams had not landed in the same group, but they are nevertheless excited when they face off in their first match in Toronto on Friday (0030 hours IST).
Toronto is the largest city in Canada with a population of 3.2 million and 6.6 million in the Greater Toronto Area. Among them, around 25,000 would be ethnic Bosnians. In fact, around 85 percent of Bosnians in Canada call Toronto home, explaining the anticipation around the encounter.
“As much as I was born in Bosnia and it is home, Canada is also home. It’s done so much for my family and this community. It’s given us the opportunity to build our lives, support our families, and still support our people back home,” Emina Kapo, the general director of the Bosnian Canadian Association, was quoted as saying in The Globe and Mail.
She was born just over a year after the start of the siege of Sarajevo, the longest military siege of a capital city in modern history – from 1992 to 1996 – during the Balkan war. Her family came to Canada in 2002.
“It’s much more than a game to us. That 90 minutes away from all the hustle and bustle and all the injustice that the world is facing right now in so many ways and everything that we’ve faced as a nation to just feel at peace and forget everything that’s going on and be together and one,” she said.
“We will be partying regardless of what happens, whether it’s a loss, a tie or a win.”
Her association will be hosting events around the match from June 11-13, with Bosnians not only from Toronto, but as far as the USA, Europe and Australia expected to attend.
Brothers Adis and Amir Mrakovic run a store in the city’s West End and on match day, will turn their parking lot into a watch party venue.
“It’ll be a day for people to spend together, eat together and watch the game,” said Adis. “Everybody’s encouraged to cheer for who they want and have a blast,” though they are themselves rooting for a draw, a sentiment shared by several Bosnian-Canadians.
The occasion, they say, lets them celebrate both countries at once. Having it as the first match is just the “icing on the cake”.
“Hopefully, we can promote and show what we’re all about to all of our Canadian neighbours. And then at the same time for any visitors that are visiting Canada, we can show them the Canadian hospitality and have a great time,” Adis said.
