AtlanticCouncil

Can soccer unite Bosnia beyond politics? | A Debrief With Jasmin Mujanović And Dzeneta Karabegović

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s historic 2026 World Cup run, its first-ever trip to the knockout stage, sealed by dramatic penalty wins over Wales and Italy, did what no political process has managed in thirty years since the Dayton Accords. It brought Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs together behind a single flag. In this episode of #BalkansDebrief, Ilva Tare, Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, speaks with political scientist and author of Balkanomnicon Jasmin Mujanović and Dženeta Karabegović, Associate Professor at the University of Salzburg, both of Bosnian origin and both in Sarajevo when their country’s team made history. They discuss the atmosphere in the streets of the capital, why the national team remains one of the country’s only genuinely shared institutions, and how FIFA and UEFA’s reform of Bosnian football governance succeeded where two decades of constitutional reform talks stalled. The conversation also explores the role of the Bosnian diaspora, from players born and raised abroad who chose to wear the national shirt, to communities across Europe and North America that celebrated the team’s run as their own. The guests examine how this global Bosnian identity fuels the team’s success and whether diaspora engagement can become a force for political and institutional renewal back home. Can unity on the pitch translate into functioning institutions? And what lessons does this moment hold for policymakers in Sarajevo, Brussels, and Washington? #Bosnia #WorldCup2026 #WesternBalkans #AtlanticCouncil #Diaspora