When, in 2002, the Turkish team rose to the semi-finals of the World Cup, I too was swept up in the contagious enthusiasm for the game that affected anyone living in this country. This time around, with Turkey not participating in the tournament, I thought I’d be spared the World Cup fever. I certainly didn’t expect to encounter it in my normally placid native country, Switzerland.After the Swiss national team unexpectedly defeated Spain, a hot favorite for the coveted World Cup, in its opening match, the tiny nation succumbed to the football virus. You can’t buy a chocolate bar or a pack of detergent in Switzerland these days that doesn’t carry the national flag or words of encouragement to the boys. Migros, the country’s biggest supermarket chain -- which, in days long past, gave birth to its Turkish namesake, which is now independent -- promised a 10 percent discount on all goods if Switzerland won its first game. The promotional gimmick has proven successful: The store has registered a massive increase in sales and hopes to capitalize on further victories.
But football also reveals the major demographic changes that have taken place in my homeland since I left it a quarter of a century ago. Foreigners now account for just over 20 percent of the 7.7 million people living in Switzerland, not counting the growing number of naturalized immigrants. This diversity is reflected in the flags hanging from windows and balconies, which do not just support the Swiss national team, but also the squads of the residents’ countries of origin.
From the banners, it is immediately evident that Portuguese immigrants account for a large proportion of foreign residents in the French-speaking part of the country, as do Spaniards. The French community, while sizeable, seems to keep its colors hidden: The Swiss media is taking obvious delight in the demise of the French Blues, who aren’t getting much support across the border.
The national football team itself is a reflection of a more culturally and ethnically diverse Switzerland: the winning goal against Spain was scored by a Swiss player of Cape Verdean origin. Three Turkish-born players, part of a 75,000-strong Turkish community which makes up 4.3 percent of Switzerland’s foreign population, are also boosting the chances of the national football team.
But if this diversity finds a light and positive expression in the current football euphoria, we also know that it fuels a much darker undercurrent of xenophobia and Islamophobia, which was revealed publicly in December 2009 when Swiss voters elected to ban the construction of minarets.
The Swiss government’s long-running battle with Libya has probably contributed (even if it does not justify) to paint a negative image of Muslims. The saga began in July 2008 when the Libyan leader’s son Hannibal, who has also been involved in violent incidents in France and in the UK, was detained in Geneva with his wife for battering their servants while staying in a local hotel. Libya retaliated by detaining two Swiss businessmen.
Although the second hostage has just been freed, the dispute remains a national obsession in Switzerland, where it is now affecting the traditional collegial style of government as bickering cabinet ministers pass the buck for what is widely perceived as a humiliating diplomatic debacle.
For now, football is helping soothe wounded pride and cementing national unity, for as long as the lucky run of the national team lasts. But it remains to be seen if the sporting spirit can change perceptions in the long term, and the multiculturalism that is currently strengthening the national squad will eventually also come to be seen as a benefit in a rapidly ageing society.
