Bosnia Banned from FIFA and UEFA

From ESPN.com:

Bosnia federation banned by FIFA, UEFA

The article is short, and sadly not surprising considering the state of other national institutions in Bosnia; the Bosnian Serb leadership of the FA refuses to give up autonomy, and therefore is hobbling the national FA. And the result is paralysis and an inability to participate internationally as a nation. The subject in this case is soccer, but the metaphor applies to the failure of the Dayton agreement in general.

World Cup Qualifying Update and a Couple of Recommendations

A bit of a grab bag today. I was out of town at a youth soccer tournament (our son's team made the final only to lose 2-0; a good result for a new team still trying to gel as a unit) and yesterday I was simply too tired to jump back into the groove. I plan to resume the book review this week.

Anyway, speaking of soccer, the Bosnian national team clinched a spot in UEFA second-round qualifying with a 2-0 win over Estonia in Tallinn. This is a great achievement for this team, and we should soon know who their competition will be in that final round. A World Cup appearance could be a real boost to a shared sense of Bosnian identity.

As long-time readers of this blog know, I have a bad habit of periodically realizing that I've been visiting another Bosnia-related blog for months or even years without ever remembering to add it to my Blogroll. So today, allow me to partially atone for yet another oversight by giving a big tip of the hat to Tuzla Daily Photo, a fantastic photoblog which has been documenting daily life in Tuzla for over three years now. Word is that at least one of the two authors is getting discouraged with low traffic and is considering throwing in the towel; this blog is a fantastic resource documenting the day-to-day realities of life away from the headlines in post-war Bosnia, and it would be a shame if it were to go into disuse. Please give them some more traffic (and then continue to do so) so we don't lose yet another wonderful blog.

Finally--and I hate to end on a somewhat pessimistic note--anyone with an interest in Bosnia and its continued viability needs to read Marko Attila Hoare's sobering piece Bosnia: Weighing the Options. It's grim reading, but given that he may very well be correct that time is running out, this may be the bracing splash of cold water some policy makers need to hear.

Bosnian National Team Solidifies Second Place in World Cup Qualifying

Five days after notching a crucial road win against a soccer team with World Cup pedigree, they pulled off a repeat performance in Sarajevo:
Bosnia Wins Home-and-Home Series Vs. Belgium
This result extended their second-place lead in Group 5 of UEFA group stage World Cup qualifying to four points. Third-place Turkey lost their qualifier on the same day.

However, Bosnia's lead is slim. Turkey's loss was to Group 5 leader--and 2008 Euro Cup champions--Spain; their second and final match against the reigning European champions. Bosnia still has to play Spain once more, albeit for the home leg in Sarajevo.

Fortunately, Bosnia has one each of their games versus Estonia and Armenia yet to play; even better, those are their only road games remaining. With their remaining home legs against Spain and, yes, Turkey, their right to play in the final round of World Cup qualifying lies in their own hands. Bosnia are in the odd position of regarding their final two road games as must-wins, while hoping for the best in their final home legs.

Bosnia's next World Cup qualifier is on the road versus Armenia, on August 5. Stay tuned!