A long-running rivalry
Passions run high in sports and fistfights at football matches aren’t rare but one such match led to an actual war!.
This is the story of the infamous Football War. In 1969, Latin American neighbours Honduras and El Salvador faced-off for a spot at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Neither team had ever qualified before.
With ongoing land and sea disputes, tensions had been brewing between the two nations for a while. To make matters worse, the Honduran government passed a new law, stripping the Salvadoran migrants of their land and began deporting them.
A cooling down that never came
Not surprisingly, the El Salvador team received a hostile welcome when they reached Honduras for the first match. The night before the game, bricks were thrown at the windows of their hotel. The match was intense and Honduras won it 1-0, thanks to a goal in the 89th minute.
Back in El Salvador, the loss became a national tragedy. Devastated by the loss, Amelia Bolanios, a teenage fan, took her life. Her coffin was carried through the streets by the national team and she was buried in a televised event with the President in attendance.
Next week, when the Honduran team arrived, it felt like a battlefield. They were escorted to the ground in military tanks. Their hotel was vandalized the night before.
During the match, the Honduran flag was burned. Fans attending the game ended up in hospitals. El Salvador won 3-0. Tensions reached a fever pitch and the borders were closed.
A decider was scheduled for June 26th, 1969 in Mexico. 1700 policemen were deployed at the stadium to prevent violence. The air was thick. It reverberated with chants of “Murder, murder”. With the score tied, the game went into extra time. EL Salvador eventually won it 3-2 and booked a dramatic World Cup berth.
Battle lines are drawn
The next day, El Salvador severed diplomatic ties with Honduras citing the exacerbated persecution of Salvadorans following the second match. The skirmishes at the border increased and by July a full-fledged war had broken out.
The war lasted for only four days but resulted in over 3000 deaths and rendered nearly 50,000 people homeless.
Meanwhile, at the World Cup, El Salvador lost all their matches and failed to score even a single goal.
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