When Switzerland kick off Euro 2008 in Basel this afternoon they will be hoping to tap in to some of the history and fervour that has helped turn the northern city into the country's soccer capital.

Located at the meeting point of the Swiss, French and German border, Basel and its inhabitants claim a passion for football more in keeping with their international neighbours than with the generally reserved nature of rival Swiss cities.

"It's hard to explain the reasons but the people of Basel have always been very proud of their status as the country's leading football city," Christoph Kieslich, co-editor of the BaslerZeitung broadsheet, said yesterday.

"Of course, the local club FC Basel have a lot to do with it as a very traditional club that was founded back in 1893. Basel is an industrial town and there has been a long-standing relationship between the club and the general population."

FC Basel's St Jakob Park stadium will host all three of Switzerland's Group A matches, including this afternoon's opener against the Czech Republic, along with two quarter-finals and a semi-final.

The locals should already be in a party mood after seeing Basel wrap up the Swiss league and cup double here last month, prompting the usual raucous celebrations in the city's old town.

"I don't know why there is such a passion for football in the city," Switzerland's Basel-born playmaker Hakan Yakin said at the team's training camp.

"Perhaps it has to do with the closeness to Germany and France but the support from the fans has always been great, even when the club was in the second division.

"The stadium is really tight and the noise and atmosphere transmits really well on to the pitch."

Yakin, now with Basel's league rivals Young Boys Berne, is one of nine Swiss squad members to have played for the side at some point in their career.

The squad's three strikers, Alex Frei, Marco Streller and Eren Derdiyok were all born in and around the city along with Yakin, midfielder Benjamin Huggel and right back Philipp Degen.

"It's the most beautiful city in Switzerland and with our young team it will help to have a huge crowd behind us," former Basel Champions League goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuehler said.

"We'll be hoping that the Basel cauldron is spilling over this afternoon."