St. Louis is set to play a significant role in the lead-up to this summer’s World Cup, especially after Bosnia and Herzegovina’s surprising qualification for the tournament.
The Gateway City will host the vital final friendlies for both Bosnia and Panama at Energizer Park on June 6. Tickets have been selling fast since CITY announced the match on Monday afternoon.
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This friendly match is crucial for both national teams as they prepare for the tournament. Panama’s journey to qualification saw them remain undefeated during the final round of CONCACAF qualifying, earning a spot in the World Cup for just the second time in their history.
Bosnia’s path to qualification was far less straightforward. The Dragons finished behind Austria in the main UEFA qualifying campaign and had to stage comebacks against both Wales and Italy to secure Europe’s last spot. Edin Džeko’s 86th-minute goal in Cardiff kept their hopes alive, while Haris Tabaković’s 79th-minute goal helped Bosnia qualify after a nail-biting penalty shootout in Zenica.
In Bosnia’s World Cup opener, they will face the hosts in Toronto, but their final send-off in St. Louis might feel like a farewell in Sarajevo. Reports indicate there are over 60,000 Bosnians living in St. Louis, making it the unofficial capital of the Bosnian diaspora. Many were refugees who fled the war and genocide against the Muslim population in Bosnia. They formed a community in the Bevo neighborhood and became a secondary landing spot for refugees initially settled elsewhere in the United States. Although the community has expanded over the past 30 years, their ties to Bosnia—and the team—remain strong.
“It’s going to be a massive celebration,” says Alen Bradaric, president of the BOHFS soccer club. “There are individuals in this community who have endured so much and have witnessed unimaginable things, and that team represents everything to them.”
Bradaric’s BOHFS, named in honor of Bosnian culture, qualified for the US Open Cup earlier this year, drawing approximately 2,500 spectators to Lindenwood University, where the amateur team faced Union Omaha.
Bosnia last qualified for the World Cup in 2014, during which they played twice in St. Louis in preparation: a match against Argentina at Busch Stadium and a 2-1 victory over the Ivory Coast at The Dome.
“They’ve faced many challenges in recent years,” Bradaric notes. “It was a tough period, but the new coach has revitalized the team. I didn’t think this was possible, and now we get to celebrate them in our community. I don’t think they realize how much this means to us.”
In addition to the match against Panama, the Bosnian National Team will conclude its World Cup preparations in St. Louis with a six-day training camp at CITY’s Washington University Performance Center—one last taste of home before heading to their base camp in Salt Lake City.
