The Fútbol War

If you look at a map of the American continent, you can see two little countries in Central America: one being Honduras and another El Salvador. These two countries have a deep-rooted and connected history as a result of social and economic conflict.

At the start of the 20th century, thousands of Salvadorans began to migrate into Honduras to

look for better economic opportunities. Many Salvadorans became quite economically successful after their emigration. As a result, the Hondurans were left jealous due to their own lack of economic prosperity. By 1969, more than 300,000 Salvadorans had emigrated to Honduras. This caused many native Hondurans to call for tighter policies against immigration into their country. Additionally, border disputes, inequities of land and wealth, and disagreements over policies regarding the Central American Common Market led to increased tensions between the two countries.

Within the Central American Common Market, Honduras was an original Banana Republic— a country whose politics were influenced greatly by their fruit market centered economy. Political and economic conflict within the Fruit Market fueled further Honduran jealousy. This jealousy was amplified due to propaganda promoted by Honduras’ corrupt government, which sought to unite the Honduran people by placing blame for the country's problems on the El Salvadorans. As a result, a fight over land ensued with both countries passing laws that displaced and angered the other, such as the 1975 Land Reform Decree from Honduras and the Salvadoran Land Reform Decree of 1980.

This political tension reached a new height when El Salvador and Honduras faced each other for the 1970’s World Cup Qualifiers in Honduras’ capital, Tegucigalpa. The night before the match, Hondurans made it their goal to disturb the Salvadorans’ fútbol team so that when they played Honduras they would be extremely fatigued due to not sleeping well. Reports of violence against Salvadorans and their property were reported in large numbers that night. During the game, Hondurans scored a game winning goal in the 89th minute of a 90-minute match. The Salvadorans felt cheated. In the next match, the El Salvadorans beat Honduras. Violence erupted and two Honduran fans ended up dead. Their fútbol games became a reflection of the disagreements and tensions between both countries, with governments instigating violence between one another.

In response, El Salvador’s government claimed that Honduras did nothing to prevent the violence against and mass-expulsion of Salvadorans. Therefore, a tie-breaker game was played in Mexico. Again, El Salvador won. Diplomatic ties broke and both sides purchased arms to wage war. 

On July 16, 1969, El Salvador invaded Honduras. Air battles and tanks made their way into Honduras with an early victory as El Salvador had a much larger fleet of jets. However, once the Hondurans conducted their own raids, they took the advantage. Salvadorans were still gaining ground, but their oil supply was being attacked by Hondurans. Fernando Soto— Honduran fighter pilot Captain— became a notable figure by taking down three Salvadoran fighters. After Honduras’ petition, The Organization of American States (OAS) ordered El Salvador to withdraw on July 18th, but Salvadorans resisted. Nevertheless, as Hondurans kept attacking oil supplies, Salvadoran supply lines were rapidly weakening. When the OAS threatened to impose sanctions on El Salvador, they agreed to withdraw. The war ended in about four days and became known as the ‘100-Hour War’.

As a result of the war, 3,000 deaths were caused and over 300,000 Salvadorians were displaced and forced back into the already-overpopulated El Salvador. The El Salvadoran government refused to give aid to those displaced which created much discontentment and later led to a Salvadoran Civil War. 

At first glance, it was just a war caused by a soccer match showdown. But at its core we can see that even seemingly small tensions between nations can lead to devastating results. Today, relations between the two countries are still turbulent but much progress has been made.