For Bosnian Canadians, opening World Cup match in Toronto is ‘much more than a game’

Days before the start of FIFA World Cup, brothers Adis and Amir Mrakovic sat outside their deli with Bosnian coffees in copper pots on the table, watching a staff member hang a Bosnian flag beside a Canadian one on the roof.

Mrakovic Fine Foods is a family-owned Eastern European deli tucked into a residential corner of Etobicoke, in Toronto’s west end. When Canada takes on Bosnia-Herzegovina in its opening World Cup match in Toronto on Friday, the brothers will be turning 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.”

Born in Bosnia, the brothers moved to Canada with their family when they were teenagers. When asked who they hope wins on Friday, each said a draw would suit them fine.

The match, the brothers said, lets them celebrate both countries at once. The fact that their city is hosting at all is reason enough, and Bosnia playing the opening game is just the “icing on the cake.”

“We’re happy to share Bosnian culture with everyone. 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.

The Mrakovics are not the only ones getting excited about Bosnia’s second World Cup appearance, more than a decade after its world stage debut at the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Ned Habibovic, one of the fans who watched the Bosnian team practice at a World Cup training site in Toronto on Tuesday, said he has attended three other World Cups and having his homeland represented at this tournament is “huge” for the community.

“This is touching deep to my heart and as well to all fans and Bosnians,” he said, adding that he expects many Bosnian fans to fill Toronto Stadium.

The Bosnian Canadian Association is hosting events from June 11 to 13 around the match, and is projecting roughly 25,000 Bosnians and members of the diaspora will be in the Greater Toronto Area — travelling from Bosnia, across Europe, the United States, Canada and as far as Australia. The association said it was able to gather this information through partnerships with FIFA, the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian embassy.

Emina Kapo, the association’s general director, said the excitement has been building for months.

“It’s going to be a lot of connection, a lot of beauty, a lot of community” Kapo said. “I’m really excited for Toronto and Canada to experience what football means for Bosnians, to see Bosnian culture, from the food to the people to the hospitality, in a place so many kilometres from Bosnia but that is going to feel like we’re home.”

Like the Mrakovics, Kapo is hoping for a tie. She wishes the two countries had not been drawn into the same group, she said, because she is “cheering for both wholeheartedly.”

“I can tell you one thing for free, Bosnians celebrate win or lose. We will be partying regardless of what happens, whether it’s a loss, a tie or a win,” she said.

Kapo was born in Bosnia just over a year after the start of the siege of Sarajevo, the longest military siege of a capital city in modern history that took place during the country’s civil war from 1992 to 1996. Her family came to Canada in 2002.

“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.”

Bosnians are known for showing up to away matches in numbers that often outstrip the crowds at home games. For Kapo, the reason for that is clear.

“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.

By Monique Kasonga

– With files from Joshua Clipperton