The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, met with the Italian Ambassador Sarah Castellani on 15 April and presented her with a Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team jersey with her name on it. This kind gesture followed the match played on 31 March in Zenica between the two teams, which resulted in Bosnia and Herzegovina qualifying for the next World Cup.

As stated in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the meeting enabled “an exchange of cordiality and friendship, as a confirmation of the close cooperation and authentic ties between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy, both on and off the field”.

During the meeting, they also recalled that the Italian national football team, coached by Arrigo Sacchi, was the first to arrive in Sarajevo for a match, immediately after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1996: a gesture of solidarity that is still alive in the memories of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The bitterness of our failure to qualify is partly tempered by the joy of the friendly people of Bosnia and Herzegovina for this historic placement. Therefore, I will be rooting for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup, because that is what friends do. We were opponents for one night, but we will remain friends forever,” concluded Ambassador Castellani.