Football war- a fleeting military conflict between El Salvador and Honduras, which lasted 6 days (from 14 to 20 July 1969). According to international media, the immediate reason for the war was the loss of the Honduras team to the El Salvador team in the playoffs of the qualifying stage of the FIFA World Cup, which explains the name given to the conflict.
Despite the transience, the conflict came at a cost to both sides; total losses amounted to about 2,000 people; according to other sources, 6,000 people died. The football war buried the Central American Common Market regional integration project. The peace treaty between the countries was signed only 10 years after the end of the war.
Background and causes of the Football War
The immediate cause of the war was a long-standing dispute between the two countries over the exact location of certain sections of the common border. Honduras was also greatly annoyed by the substantial trade advantages afforded to the more developed Salvadoran economy under the rules of the Central American Common Market organization. Both countries experienced significant economic difficulties, both were ruled by the military; both governments sought to divert the attention of the population from pressing domestic political and economic problems. El Salvador, the smallest and most populous of all the Central American states, had a more developed economy, but experienced an acute shortage of suitable for cultivation land. Much of the land in El Salvador was controlled by large landowners, leading to land hunger and the migration of landless peasants to neighboring Honduras.
Honduras is much larger than its neighbor in terms of territory, less densely populated and less developed economically. By 1969, more than 300,000 Salvadorans had moved to Honduras in search of free land and work. Many had already lived in the country for many years by that time. Most migrants entered the country illegally, seizing vacant land and starting to cultivate it; such unauthorized settlers did not have any rights to the land, except for their physical presence on it.
For Honduras, the land issue itself did not matter much; however, the prospect of dominance and domination of the Salvadorans in the economy caused great irritation in the society. During the 1960s, Central American Common Market rules gave preference to the economies of the more developed countries in the region, El Salvador and Guatemala. The explosive growth in the number of Salvadoran-owned private enterprises in Honduras (most noticeable in the number of shoe stores) in the eyes of ordinary citizens of Honduras was a clear indication of the economic backwardness of their country. The problem of the Salvadoran squatters, although not very significant in the economic sense, was a sore spot for the Honduran nationalists, who believed that economic dominance would be followed by territorial expansion, and Hondurans would be strangers in their country.
Escalating conflict
Tensions in bilateral relations gradually increased during the two years preceding the conflict. The regime of Honduran President Osvaldo López Arellano (1963-1971) experienced significant economic and political difficulties and decided to use the Salvadoran settlers as a convenient scapegoat. In January 1969, the government refused to renew the 1967 bilateral immigration treaty with El Salvador. In April, it announced its intention to deprive and expel from the country those who acquired land as part of the agrarian reform, without providing evidence required by law that the acquirer is a citizen of Honduras by birth. A media campaign was launched to explain the rise in unemployment and lower wages as an influx of migrant workers from El Salvador. At the end of May, a stream of dispossessed migrants began to flow from Honduras to overpopulated El Salvador. Images of refugees and their stories filled the pages of Salvadoran newspapers and television screens. Rumors of violence perpetrated by the Honduran military in the expulsion of immigrants began to circulate. Tension in relations between the two countries was approaching a critical point.
El Salvador's public services were unable to cope with the influx of displaced refugees; discontent grew in society, threatening to result in a social explosion. Confidence in government was falling; success in the conflict with Honduras could help him regain the support of the population. While the war would almost certainly have led to the disintegration of the Central American Common Market, the Salvadoran government was willing to do so. According to him, the organization was already close to collapse due to the problem of trade advantages; war would only hasten the inevitable.
On the eve of the war
The incident that provoked open hostilities and gave the war its name took place in San Salvador in June 1969. Within a month, the football teams of the two countries had to play two matches for reaching the finals of the 1970 FIFA World Cup (if each team won one match, a third was appointed). Riots arose both during the first match in Tegucigalpa, and after it (a certain citizen of El Salvador shot herself, declaring that she could not survive such a shame of her country), and during the second match (El Salvador's return victory), in San Salvador, they reached a threatening scale. In El Salvador, Honduran football players and fans were beaten, Honduran flags were burned; a backlash of attacks on Salvadorans, including two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. An unspecified number of Salvadorans have died or been injured in the attacks, and tens of thousands have fled the country. Emotions ran high, and the press of both countries was filled with hysteria. On June 27, 1969, immediately after losing the third match, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with El Salvador. On July 14, the Salvadoran armed forces launched a concerted military action against Honduras.
Hostilities
The Salvadoran Air Force attacked targets in Honduras, and the army launched an offensive along the main roads connecting the two countries and the Honduran-owned islands in the Gulf of Fonseca. Initially, the Salvadoran troops were successful. By the evening of July 15, the Salvadoran army, larger and better armed than the opposing army of Honduras, advanced 8 km and occupied the capital of the Nueva department, Octotepec. However, after that, the offensive collapsed due to a lack of fuel and ammunition. The main reason for the shortage of fuel was the actions of the Honduran Air Force, which, in addition to destroying the weaker Salvadoran air force, seriously damaged the Salvadoran oil depots. The day after the outbreak of the war, an emergency session of the Organization of American States was convened, calling for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Salvadoran troops from Honduras. For several days, El Salvador resisted calls from the OAS, demanding that Honduras first agree to the payment of reparations for attacks on Salvadoran citizens and guarantee the safety of Salvadorans remaining in Honduras. A ceasefire was agreed on July 18; the fire was completely stopped by 20 July. Until July 29, El Salvador refused to withdraw its troops, but then agreed to the withdrawal of troops in early August. He was persuaded to such a decision, on the one hand, by the threat of imposing economic sanctions on the part of the OAS, and on the other, by its proposals to station special representatives of the OAS in Honduras to monitor the security of Salvadoran citizens. Active hostilities lasted only four days, but a peace treaty between the two countries was concluded only ten years later.
The aftermath of the war
In fact, both sides lost the Football War. Between 60,000 and 130,000 Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras, leading to economic collapse in some areas. The conflict killed about 2,000 people, mostly civilians. Bilateral trade ceased completely and the border was closed, damaging both economies and transforming the Central American Common Market into an organization that only existed on paper. The political influence of the military in both countries increased after the war. In the elections to the Parliament of El Salvador, the candidates from the ruling National Reconciliation Party were mostly military. However, the government was unable to successfully address the economic problems associated with the emergence of thousands of citizens deported from Honduras in an already overpopulated country. In addition, the government lost the economic “safety valve” previously provided by illegal emigration to Honduras; the land issue has sharply deteriorated again. The resulting social tension was one of the causes of the 1981 civil war in El Salvador.
Some football facts make one think about it, for example, this one, unknown to a wide circle, which took place in a country with such a familiar name to all of us HONDURAS!
Surely, all people who, in one way or another, are fond of football, realize its importance and influence on a person's mood, and indeed, on all spheres of his life.
However, few people know that such matches happened in world history, which were later the reason for the most real hostilities between whole countries!
As, for example, happened back in 1969.
An ordinary, at first glance, football match between two Latin American teams marked the beginning of the so-called "Football War", during which several thousand people died. July 14, 1969 is the official date of the beginning of the military conflict that lasted 6 days.
The occasion the qualifying matches for the world championship between the football teams of El Salvador and Honduras became a military conflict.
Qualifying matches consisted of two matches on the field of each of the opponents. If each side won, an additional match was assigned to determine the winner, without taking into account the goal difference in the first two games.
The first match took place in the capital of Honduras Tegucigalpa on June 8 and ended with a score of 1: 0 in favor of the hosts.
The heads of both states were present at the match, so the teams did their best. The opponents, in fact, were equal, it was very difficult to give the dominant role to one of the teams in the match.
But despite this, Honduras striker Roberto Cardona managed to score the ball in the last minutes.
This match was also watched by a fan of sb. El Salvador, eighteen-year-old Emilia Balagnos, in the city of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. At the end of the match, Emilia took out her father's pistol and shot herself in the heart. The next morning in El Salvador, another
Issue of El Nacional newspaper with the headline "She could not stand the shame of her country"(thereby adding fuel to the fire).
After the match, local fans reported to the police that there were numerous attacks by fans of the visiting team.
The return match took place in the capital of El Salvador on 15 June. On the night before the match, the Honduran players remained practically in their underpants on the street due to a fire in their hotel. The team of guests who did not sleep well lost to the hosts 3: 0.
After the game, riots broke out on the streets of the capital: hundreds of cars were set on fire, only empty spaces were left from shop windows, local hospitals set a record for attendance. Honduran fans were beaten, Honduran flags were burned.
Let's not let the different Honduras offend their own there! Protests in El Salvador.
A backlash of attacks on the Salvadorans swept across Honduras including two vice-consuls. An unspecified number of Salvadorans have died or been injured in the attacks, and tens of thousands have fled the country.
Third match took place on a neutral ground in the capital of Mexico - Mexico City.
The victory in extra time was celebrated by the national team of El Salvador with a score of 3: 2. Immediately after the match, bloody clashes broke out between the fans of both teams on the streets of the Mexican capital.
Hostilities.
After losing in the third match, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with El Salvador. In Honduras, attacks on the Salvadorans began. El Salvador's government responded by declaring a state of emergency and mobilizing reservists.
On July 14, El Salvador began hostilities, in which he was successful at the first stage - the army of this country was more numerous and better prepared. However, the offensive soon slowed down, which was facilitated by the actions of the Honduran Air Force, in turn, superior to the Salvadoran.
Their main contribution to the war was the destruction of oil storage facilities, which deprived the Salvadorian army of the fuel necessary for a further offensive, as well as the transfer of Honduran troops to the front with the help of transport aircraft.
On July 15, the Organization of American States called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Salvadoran troops from Honduras. At first, El Salvador ignored these calls, demanding that Honduras agree to the payment of reparations for attacks on Salvadoran citizens and guarantee the safety of Salvadorans who remain in Honduras. On July 18, an agreement was reached on a ceasefire, but the hostilities ceased completely only on July 20.
Consequences.
In practice, both sides lost the war.
Between 60,000 and 130,000 Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras, leading to economic collapse in some areas. The conflict killed about 2,000 people, mostly civilians.
Bilateral trade ceased completely and the border was closed, damaging both economies.
This war, which did not reveal a winner, became "fatal" for the rich El Salvador. A ten-year frozen trade relationship with a neighbor, as well as the insecurity of thousands of Salvadoran peasants who returned from Honduras, led to an economic crisis and civil war in the 1980s.
An interesting fact.
So it is quite officially called a short (fortunately) military conflict between the neighboring countries of Central America - El Salvador and Honduras. The war lasted only six days (from July 14 to 20, 1969) and the immediate reason for it was the loss of the Honduras team to the El Salvador team in the matches of the qualifying stage of the World Cup. Despite the transience, the war turned out to be quite bloody (up to 5,000 dead, including civilians), and most importantly, it “buried” the integration project of the “Central American Common Market” and for a long time doomed all countries in the region to a period of instability. The peace treaty between El Salvador and Honduras was signed only 10 years after the end of the war, and then in the conditions of the offensive of the communist rebels who had already taken power in one of the countries of Central America (Nicaragua) and seriously threatened to repeat the scenario in El Salvador, and then, possibly, in Honduras ...
The pretext ("Shot of Principle") for the "soccer war" between El Salvador and Honduras was the 1970 World Cup qualifiers. According to the results of three games, the Salvadorans won.
Photo from the blog, 1969 The real reasons were deeper - economic problems and "distraction therapy" of the heads of these countries. The victims of the six-day war (July 14-20, 1969) between these "banana republics" were from 2 to 6 thousand people. The peace treaty between the countries was signed only in 1979.
In fact, both sides lost the war. From 60 to 130 thousand Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras.
The Football War was also the last military conflict in which piston-engine propeller-driven aircraft fought against each other. Both sides used American aircraft from World War II. The state of the Salvadoran Air Force was so dire that the bombs had to be dropped manually.
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Surely, all people who, in one way or another, are fond of football, realize its importance and influence on a person's mood, and indeed, on all spheres of his life. However, few people know that such matches happened in world history, which were later the reason for the most real hostilities between whole countries! As, for example, happened back in 1969 ...
An ordinary, at first glance, football match between two Latin American teams marked the beginning of the so-called "Football War", during which several thousand people died. July 14, 1969 is the official date of the beginning of the military conflict, which lasted 6 days. The pretext for the military conflict was the qualifying matches for the World Cup between the football teams of El Salvador and Honduras.
Qualifying matches consisted of two matches on the field of each of the opponents. If each side won, an additional match was assigned to determine the winner, without taking into account the goal difference in the first two games. The first match took place in the capital of Honduras Tegucigalpa on June 8 and ended with a score of 1: 0 in favor of the hosts.
The heads of both states were present at the match, so the teams did their best. The opponents, in fact, were equal, it was very difficult to give the dominant role to one of the teams in the match. But despite this, Honduras striker Roberto Cardona managed to score the ball in the last minutes. The match was also watched by a fan of the El Salvador national team, eighteen-year-old Emilia Balagnos, in the city of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. At the end of the match, Emilia took out her father's pistol and shot herself in the heart. The next morning in El Salvador, another edition of the El Nacional newspaper came out with the headline “She could not stand the shame of her country” (thus adding fuel to the fire). After the match, local fans reported to the police that there were numerous attacks by fans of the visiting team.
"We will not allow different Honduras there to offend their own!" Protests in El Salvador, photo from blog, 1969 The return match took place in the capital of El Salvador on 15 June. On the night before the match, the Honduran players remained practically in their underpants on the street due to a fire in their hotel. The team of guests who did not sleep well lost to the hosts 3: 0. After the game, riots broke out on the streets of the capital: hundreds of cars were set on fire, only empty spaces remained from shop windows, local hospitals set a record for attendance. Honduran fans were beaten, Honduran flags were burned.
A backlash of attacks on Salvadorans, including two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. An unspecified number of Salvadorans have died or been injured in the attacks, and tens of thousands have fled the country. The third match took place on a neutral field in the capital of Mexico - Mexico City. The victory in extra time was celebrated by the national team of El Salvador with a score of 3: 2. Immediately after the match, bloody clashes broke out between the fans of both teams on the streets of the Mexican capital.
After losing in the third match, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with El Salvador. In Honduras, attacks on the Salvadorans began. The El Salvadorian government responded by declaring a state of emergency and mobilizing reservists. On July 14, El Salvador began hostilities, in which he was successful at the first stage - the army of this country was more numerous and better prepared. However, the offensive soon slowed down, which was facilitated by the actions of the Honduran Air Force, in turn, superior to the Salvadoran. Their main contribution to the war was the destruction of oil storage facilities, which deprived the Salvadorian army of the fuel necessary for a further offensive, as well as the transfer of Honduran troops to the front with the help of transport aircraft.
On July 15, the Organization of American States called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Salvadoran troops from Honduras. At first, El Salvador ignored these calls, demanding that Honduras agree to the payment of reparations for attacks on Salvadoran citizens and guarantee the safety of Salvadorans who remain in Honduras. On July 18, an agreement was reached on a ceasefire, but the hostilities ceased completely only on July 20.
In practice, both sides lost the war. Between 60,000 and 130,000 Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras, leading to economic collapse in some areas. The conflict killed about 2,000 people, mostly civilians ( There are estimates - and up to 5000, - editor's note). Bilateral trade ceased completely and the border was closed, damaging both economies.
The war, which did not reveal a winner, became "fatal" for the rich El Salvador. A ten-year frozen trade relationship with a neighbor, as well as the insecurity of thousands of Salvadoran peasants who returned from Honduras, led to an economic crisis and civil war in the 1980s. An interesting fact - the national team of El Salvador, who made it to the world championship for the first time, did not achieve success, losing all matches on a dry sheet, and took the last place in the tournament.
Six-day "football" war. Why did it start?
"Football War", which went down in history, is the name of the armed conflict between El Salvador and Honduras from July 14 to July 21, 1969, caused by the contradictions between these countries and unleashed by the ruling circles of El Salvador, as well as the clash of interests of various US monopolies in Central America. The pretext for the "Football War" was the rupture of diplomacy, relations on June 26 between Honduras and El Salvador in connection with incidents at the stadium during the meetings of the nat. teams of these countries, which contested the right to participate in the World Cup. The "Football War" began on 14 July with the invasion of El Salvador troops into Honduras. For 4 days, Salvadoran troops advanced 60 km deep into Honduras, capturing the area of pl. up to 400 km2. After the intervention of the Organization of the American State (OAG) on July 18, the offensive of the Salvadoran forces was stopped. By July 21, the fighting had ceased. In early August, El Salvador withdrew his troops from the occupied ter. Honduras. Separate clashes on the border continued until the spring of 1970. During the hostilities, and then the persecution of the Salvadorans living in Honduras, and Hondurans in El Salvador, up to 3 thousand people died. The "football war" was a clear evidence of the actions that the US monopolies have repeatedly resorted to to strengthen their dominance in the countries dependent on them. The immediate cause of the war was a long-standing dispute between the two countries over the exact location of certain sections of the common border. Honduras was also greatly annoyed by the substantial trade advantages afforded to the more developed Salvadoran economy under the rules of the Central American Common Market organization. Both countries experienced significant economic difficulties, both were ruled by the military; both governments sought to divert the attention of the population from pressing domestic political and economic problems.El Salvador, the smallest and most populous of all the Central American states, had a more developed economy, but experienced an acute shortage of suitable for cultivation land. Much of the land in El Salvador was controlled by large landowners, leading to land hunger and the migration of landless peasants to neighboring Honduras.
On the eve of the war
The incident that provoked open hostilities and gave the war its name took place in San Salvador in June 1969. Within a month, the football teams of the two countries had to play three matches for reaching the finals of the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Riots broke out during the first match in Tegucigalpa, but during the second match in San Salvador, they reached alarming proportions. In El Salvador, Honduran football players and fans were beaten, Honduran flags were burned; a backlash of attacks on Salvadorans, including two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. An unspecified number of Salvadorans have died or been injured in the attacks, and tens of thousands have fled the country. Emotions ran high, and the press of both countries was filled with hysteria. On June 27, 1969, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with El Salvador.
On July 14, the Salvadoran armed forces launched a concerted military action against Honduras.
The aftermath of the war
In fact, both sides lost the war. Between 60,000 and 130,000 Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras, leading to economic collapse in some areas. The conflict killed about 2,000 people, mostly civilians. Bilateral trade ceased completely and the border was closed, damaging both economies and transforming the Central American Common Market into an organization that only existed on paper.
The political influence of the military in both countries increased after the war.
The behavior of football fans off the pitch is sometimes appalling. Although, the word "Fans" it is inappropriate - it is incompatible with the aggression and brutality of football hooligans. I myself once, not far from the stadium "Petrovsky"(in St. Petersburg) observed a metal mountain, half a meter high, made of scraps of iron pipes. The steel pyramid was covered with black balaclavas. These pipes and masks were confiscated by the St. Petersburg OMON-sheep from the fans of the Moscow "Spartak" who came to the match on several buses. I was terrified of what might have happened if the police had not searched those buses.
And take, for example, the tactics of the behavior of English fans during their foreign tours. At home they are silk. Almost. But as soon as they go abroad, they turn into some kind of deranged goblins.They settle together in one area, occupy all local bars, cafes and pubs, consume alcohol in decalitres, and then these decalitres are cast in all the surrounding corners, gateways and fountains. The neighborhoods where the British live are turning into garbage ...
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The Anglo-Saxons behave arrogantly and bully the local population. The natives, of course, murmur, but they try not to get involved with violent drunken Britons. Again, what kind of humiliation you cannot endure for the sake of good earnings in bars and souvenir shops. But an amazing thing - as soon as the impudent Saxons ran into OUR fans, their ardor subsided significantly. We all remember very well the recent footage of the flight of a crowd of thousands of Admiral Nelson's descendants from just a few hundred great-great-grandchildren of Field Marshal Suvorov on the streets of Marseille.
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Why am I suddenly talking about football in a topic dedicated to the most ridiculous reasons for war ? What do you think - can a loss in a football match, as well as the aggressive behavior of fans, become a pretext for starting a war? ... It turns out, maybe! ... And such a war has already happened in the history of mankind. In the past 20th century in Latin America.
In the summer of 1969, two teams from neighboring countries - Honduras and El Salvador - played in the elimination matches of the World Cup qualifying round. During the first match, riots broke out in El Salvador, players and fans of Honduras were attacked, Honduran flags were burned everywhere. And one unbalanced Salvadoran cheerleader even shot herself.
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Mass hysteria reached its climax during the return game (and especially after it) - Honduras lost and did not reach the final of the World Championship. And his fans were very offended. They were so angry that a wave of attacks on the Salvadorans, including even two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. And an attack on diplomats is, you know, already very serious. Moreover, several Salvadorans were killed.
And the flywheel of war spun. Mobilization began. Diplomatic relations were severed. In the sky over the border areas, planes were fired at. And on July 14, 1969, the war began. The army and National Guard of El Salvador crossed the border of the neighboring state, and its air force struck at the Toncontin airfield and the accumulation of enemy troops.
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The war lasted only 6 days. But during these six days, several thousand people died, most of whom were peaceful civilians. The exact number of victims is still unknown. Numbers from 2 to 6 thousand killed and up to 15,000 wounded are named.
The conflict was settled only with the intervention of the International Court of Justice. Nobody won that war. Both sides have lost. Military spending, destruction in the course of hostilities and the cessation of mutual trade caused very serious damage to the economies of both states. And the peace agreement between Honduras and El Salvador was signed only 10 years later. And although the true reasons for the war were purely economic, but that military conflict entered the history of mankind precisely under the name "Football war".
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