War
Files
War
File: The Soccer War (1969)
The Soccer
War (1969)--A short war
between El
Salvador and Honduras. Though this
war is commonly called The Soccer War or The Football
War, the true reason for the hostility between these
Central American countries ran far deeper. El Salvador,
which has a much larger population than Honduras was very
unhappy with how Salvadoran migrant workers in Honduras
were treated, especially after Honduras began expelling
thousands of Salvadoran illegal immigrants in the late
1960s.
Both nations were in the qualifying
games for the 1970 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, and
when the two teams played each other, the soccer games
took place with the backdrop of heightened tensions
between the two nations. The war broke out in July, 1969
with Salvadoran military forces punching quickly into
Honduras. The short war ended with a cease-fire arranged
by the Organization of American States (OAS), and El
Salvador withdrew its forces from Honduran territory by
August 2, 1969.
The
Soccer War Began:
July 14, 1969
The
Soccer War Ended:
July 18, 1969
The
Soccer War Was Fought
Between:
El Salvador vs. Honduras
Location
of the the Soccer War : El
Salvador invaded Honduras along their common
border.
The
Soccer War Resulted In:
Salvadoran military victory, though the fighting ended
through a negotiated cease-fire by though the
Organization of American States
The
Length of the the Soccer War :
Four
days
The
Soccer War Casualties:
Salvadran
Military and Civilian Casualties: 900
Killed
Honduran
Military and Civilian Casualties: 2,100
Killed
Sources:
Secondary
Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth
Century
Soccer
War 1969
Football
War-Wikipedia
