Berkley Center

Over the past few months, it has been impossible not to get swept up in the World Cup along with the rest of the world. Here in Belgium, however, I think the FIFA spirit was even stronger than in some other countries that qualified because the last time Belgium participated in a World Cup was 12 years ago in Korea/Japan, and they did not have a great showing. The last time Belgium was in the World Cup, the squad’s current coach Marc Wilmots was in fact a player on the team. This time, this entire little country of about 11 million people was one of the favorites to make it far despite being the youngest team in the entire competition.

After 12 years of rethinking football development, the country’s central football governing body finally turned around a country’s sport in a way no one thought possible. Alas, Belgium’s long-awaited World Cup performance was blown out by the Argentines in the quarterfinals. However, the entire country is extremely proud of its squad, nicknamed “the Red Devils” or “les Diables Rouges” and “De Rode Duivels” in French and Dutch, respectively, because there are, after all, two main languages in Belgium.

In a country that has been moving towards an increasing amount of federalism—to the point that the Flemish separatist party won the most seats in the most recent round of elections—there has even been talk of separating the country in two parts, divided mainly along linguistic lines. For a few months, however, the country has exhibited a sense of unity not seen in a very long time. The team itself is coincidentally divided almost half and half between Dutch and French speaking players, and it seems to be a true representation of the changing face of Belgium—one that has decided to take immigration in stride and in turn has benefited in many areas, sport being just one of them. During the World Cup, the Belgian flag could be seen proudly sported by everyone, even in areas where the Flemish separatist party has strongholds, such as the Flemish countryside and Antwerp, the second-largest Belgian city.

There have been countless articles written in the past weeks and months claiming that a strong showing by the Red Devils will bring a new period of national unity, giving people reason to put aside their differences and once again work together. It is not unreasonable to think that this World Cup can help ignite a sense of unity. Indeed, chants regularly heard amongst crowds wherever they happen to be watching a game are in French, Dutch, and English. Interestingly, the chants popular in each language reflect different aspects of the culture: the French “Tous Ensemble” translates to “All Together” and in a way can be an interpretation of the francophone population’s desire to remain together; the principal Dutch chant features a call-back that is initiated by one person yelling the Dutch equivalent of “WHERE is the party” to which everyone responds “HERE is the party”; it is generally accepted among the younger generation that the northern Dutch-speaking region has a better nightlife and social scene.

However, people have expressed restraint when it comes to hopes that the country will fall into a golden era of good feelings after the World Cup. These folks point to the outcomes of the 1998 FIFA World Cup won by the French hosts. That team was, as well, a representation of contemporary French society, with players from all backgrounds and the captain, Zinedine Zidane (now a football legend), even of direct Algerian descent. After the French team won the World Cup, people talked about a new era of race relations across all of France, only to see those hopes quickly evaporate into a reversion to race-based tensions and distrust. While the conditions in Belgium today are much different than in France in 1998, maybe some caution should be heeded so as to not have such high hopes resting on a handful of young men.

The Belgian team has now returned home after what many classify as a successful World Cup run. While the team’s focus has shifted towards the European Championship in 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Russia, it remains to be seen where the Belgian people themselves will look towards next: will they choose to revert back to the linguistic and regional divides that have plagued the social, political, and economic fabric of this tiny nation, or will they choose to embrace a new spirit of national unity and perhaps make Belgium greater than the total sum of all its parts?