[wzslider]Nearly a month after the historical success and qualification of the B&H national football team for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, the city of St. Louis is decorated with yellow-blue colors.
This time, the match will take place not in Sarajevo, Zenica or another B&H city, but in a city in the USA called St. Louis in the state of Missouri, which is 8,000 kilometers from B&H. St. Louis is known to the B&H public as the city with the highest number of Bosnian-Herzegovinians outside of B&H. A less known fact is that the Bosnian-Herzegovinian community will celebrate this year 20 years of its existence.
The B&H football team will fly to St. Louis today to participate in a friendly match with Argentina, and the B&H team will stay at the luxurious Westin Hotel that is found next to Busch Stadium, the home of the local baseball team and the finalists of this year’s championship, the St. Louis Cardinals.
The second training is planned for Sunday at Busch Stadium immediately after the press conference, and the match will be held at 19:30 (2:30 local time).
The atmosphere in St. Louis is festive. Nearly all shops, restaurants and bars owned by Bosnian-Herzegovinians are decorated with B&H flags, scarves and other paraphernalia, but perhaps what sets St. Louis apart from other places in the diaspora communities is the reaction of the host city. For example, a local chain of football equipment SoccerMaster offers paraphernalia of the B&H football team, and the local Walgreens Pharmacy offers sports equipment including B&H flags, scarves, flags for cars and caps.
The most interesting case, however, comes from the local credit union First Missouri Credit Union, where the ‘Day of Dragons’ was announced from 12-15 November, and offices of this bank were adorned with paraphernalia of the B&H football team.
(Source: Sportsport.ba; Photos: Facebook)
