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Inside This Issue 1 VIP Holiday Movie Night 2 From Thankful Jars to Turkey Trivia 2 Another Comedy Jam for the Books 3 Ride Away With a New Motorcycle 3 Apple-Cranberry Salad 4 The Match That Lit the Fuse: Inside the 100-Hour Soccer War
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HOW A WORLD CUP QUALIFIER EXPLODED INTO A REAL WAR The Soccer Match That Launched an Invasion
In the summer of 1969, what should’ve been a sweaty, rowdy World Cup qualifier turned into one of history’s strangest armed conflicts. El Salvador and Honduras, two Central American neighbors with a long history of simmering tension, found themselves lacing up not just for soccer but for war.
On July 14, El Salvador used that World Cup qualification game to send troops across
the border. Blackouts darkened both capitals as air strikes lit up the skies. For four days, just 100 hours, the conflict raged. The war ended almost
The fuse? A three-game soccer series, drenched in passion, politics, and pent-up resentment. The first match in Honduras ended with riots. The second, in El Salvador,
saw tensions combust into full-blown violence. The third, a tie-breaker in Mexico City, sent
as quickly as it began, thanks to pressure from the Organization of American States, but the damage lingered. Nearly 3,000 people were killed or injured. It shredded diplomatic ties — and it took 11 years for a peace treaty to be signed.
El Salvador to the World Cup and straight into a diplomatic meltdown. But let’s be clear: This wasn’t just about the games. Behind the brawls were deep-rooted land disputes, decades of migration, and resentment over Honduran land reforms that displaced
To this day, many Salvadorans regard the “Football War” as a moment of national pride, proof that even a tiny nation can pack a serious punch when pushed too far. So, next time someone tells you sports aren’t political, remind them that in 1969, a soccer ball started a war.
many Salvadoran settlers. The soccer field was just the stage for long-simmering tensions.
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