ABSTRACT
During one of my pre-fieldwork visits to Turkey while planning this research, some friends, aware of my interest in Greek-Turkish rapprochement, called to ask whether I would like to take the opportunity to watch the football match between the Turkish and Greek national teams in Istanbul in the preliminary rounds of the World Cup. The opportunity was offered by a campaign run by the largest mobile telephone company in Turkey, Turkcell, the main sponsor of the national football team, which was eagerly 'looking for Greeks to participate'. I replied positively. This was in May 2005, well after the 1999 earthquakes and the positive 'shift of the climate' in Greek-Turkish relations. Still, fearing violence, the two football associations had decided to hold the games without the presence of the guest team's fans.
