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{{Short description|Brief war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Expand Italian|topic=mil|date=August 2024}}{{redirect-multi|2|Soccer War|100 Hour War|violence occurring during association football matches|Football hooliganism|another war called the "100 Hour War"|Gulf War|the broader rivalry between the two countries|El Salvador–Honduras football rivalry}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Football War
| width             = 
| partof            = 
| image             = Honduras and El Salvador map.png
| image_size        = 350px
| caption           = Map illustrating the territories seized by El Salvador at the height of the conflict, prior to their eventual withdrawal.
| date              = {{start and end dates|1969|07|14|1969|07|18|df=y}} ({{age in days|14 July 1969|18 July 1969}} days)
| place             = [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]]
| result            = Ceasefire by [[Organization of American States|OAS]] intervention
| territory         = ''[[Status quo ante bellum]]''
| combatant1        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagdeco|El Salvador}} [[Military dictatorship in El Salvador|El Salvador]]
}}
| combatant2        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagdeco|Honduras|1949}} [[History of Honduras (1932–1982)|Honduras]]
}}
| commander1        = {{flagdeco|El Salvador}} [[Fidel Sánchez Hernández]]
| commander2        = {{flagdeco|Honduras|1949}} [[Oswaldo López Arellano]]
| strength1         = 8,000 (ground forces)<br> 11 combat aircraft<ref name=troop#>{{Cite book |last1=Brzoska |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=to7hS3Wlro4C&pg=PA61 |title=Arms and Warfare: Escalation, De-escalation, and Negotiation |last2=Pearson |first2=Frederic S. |date=1994 |location=Columbia |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-87249-982-9 |via=Google Books |pages=61–70}}</ref>
| strength2         = 2,500 (ground forces)<br>23 combat aircraft<ref name=troop#/>
| casualties1       = '''Per El Salvador:'''<ref name="casualty"/>{{plainlist|
* 107 killed
* 593 injured
* 3 aircraft destroyed
}}
| casualties2       = '''Per Honduras:'''<ref name="casualty"/>{{plainlist|
* 99 killed
* 66 injured
}}
----
'''Per Parish priest:'''<ref name=TIME>{{Cite magazine |date=1969-07-25 |title=Central America: A Population Explosion |url=https://time.com/archive/6637203/central-america-a-population-explosion/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |magazine=TIME }}</ref>{{plainlist|
* 400 killed
----
}}
'''Per CIA:'''<ref name=CIA>{{Cite web |date=22 July 1969 |title=Central Intelligence Bulletin: 22 July 1969 |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000941827.pdf |access-date=11 August 2024 |website=CIA.gov}}</ref>{{plainlist|
* 1,500 killed
}}
| casualties3       = +2,000 civilians killed<ref name="banana"/><ref name=":12"/><ref name=":0"/>
}}

The '''Football War''' ({{langx|es|Guerra del fútbol}}), also known as the '''Soccer War''' or the '''100 Hour War''', was a brief [[war|military conflict]] fought between [[Military dictatorship in El Salvador|El Salvador]] and [[History of Honduras (1932–1982)|Honduras]] in 1969. Existing tensions between the two countries coincided with rioting during a [[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification|1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Luckhurst |first=Toby |date=27 June 2019 |title=Honduras v El Salvador: The football match that kicked off a war |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48673853 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108040720/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48673853 |archive-date=8 January 2023 |access-date=22 September 2021 |website=[[BBC News]] |publisher=}}</ref> The war began on 14 July 1969 when the [[Armed Forces of El Salvador|Salvadoran military]] launched an attack against Honduras. The [[Organization of American States]] (OAS) negotiated a cease-fire on the night of 18 July, hence its nickname. Salvadoran troops were withdrawn in early August. 

The war, while brief, had major consequences for both countries and was a major factor in starting the [[Salvadoran Civil War]] a decade later.

==Background==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2024}}

Although the nickname "Football War" implies that the conflict was due to a [[Association football|football]] match, the causes of the war went much deeper. The roots were issues over land reform in [[Honduras]] and immigration and demographic problems in [[El Salvador]]. Honduras has more than five times the area of neighboring El Salvador, but in 1969 the population of El Salvador (3.7 million) was 40% larger than that of Honduras (2.6 million). At the beginning of the 20th century, Salvadorans had begun migrating to Honduras in large numbers. By 1969, more than 300,000 Salvadorans were living in Honduras, making up more than 10% of Honduras's population.<ref name="banana">{{Cite book |last=Acker |first=Alison |url=https://archive.org/details/hondurasmakingof0000acke/page/n7/mode/2up |title=Honduras: The Making of a Banana Republic |publisher=Between the Lines |year=1988 |isbn=9780919946880 |location=Toronto |pages=92–93 |access-date=1 June 2024 |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

In Honduras, as in much of Central America, a large majority of the land was owned by big corporations or large landowners. The [[United Fruit Company]] owned 10% of the land, making it hard for the average landowner to compete. Just 8.8% of landowners held over 63% of the land, and the top 1% held over 38%.<ref name="Anderson-1981">{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Thomas P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpNqAAAAMAAJ |title=The War of the Dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador, 1969 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=1981 |isbn=9780803210097 |edition=illustrated |location=Lincoln |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref>{{RP|53}} In 1966, these landowners united to create the National Federation of Honduran Farmers and Ranchers ({{Langx|es|Federación Nacional de Agricultores y Ganaderos de Honduras}}, FENAGH). This group put pressure on the [[President of Honduras]], General [[Oswaldo López Arellano]], to protect the property of wealthy landowners from ''[[Peasant#Latin American farmers|campesinos]]'', many of whom were Salvadoran.<ref name="Anderson-1981"/>{{RP|64–75}}

In 1962, Honduras successfully enacted a new [[land reform]] law.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 December 1962 |title=El Congreso National decreta la siguiente... |trans-title=The National Congress decrees the following... |url=http://lcweb5.loc.gov/glin/jurisdictions/Honduras/pdfs/155709-206648.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224201803/http://lcweb5.loc.gov/glin/jurisdictions/Honduras/pdfs/155709-206648.pdf |archive-date=24 February 2015 |work=La Gaceta |language=es |via=lcweb5.loc.gov}}</ref> Fully enforced by 1967, this law gave the central government and municipalities much of the land occupied illegally by Salvadoran immigrants and redistributed it to native-born Hondurans. The land was taken from both immigrant farmers and [[squatting|squatters]] regardless of their claims to ownership or immigration status. This created problems for Salvadorans and Hondurans who were married. Thousands of Salvadoran laborers were expelled from Honduras, including both migrant workers and longer-term settlers. This general rise in tensions ultimately led to a military conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |title=July 14, 1969: Soccer War |url=https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/soccer-war/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=Zinn Education Project |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Buildup==
{{Further|El Salvador–Honduras football rivalry#Football War}}
In June 1969, both countries met in a two-leg [[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification|1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]. The first game was held in [[Tegucigalpa]], Honduras' capital, on 8 June 1969.<ref name=":0" /> The [[El Salvador national football team|Salvadoran team]] was harassed by Honduran fans at their hotel the night before the match.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last1=Hawranek |first1=Maria |last2=Opryszek |first2=Szymon |date=2024-06-15 |title=Co się stało z Amelią B.? Czy bohaterka "Wojny futbolowej" Kapuścińskiego istniała? |trans-title=What happened to Amelia B.? Did the heroine of Kapuściński's "Football War" exist? |url=https://podroze.onet.pl/ciekawe/co-sie-stalo-z-amelia-b-czy-bohaterka-wojny-futbolowej-kapuscinskiego-istniala/l731z5g |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Onet Podróże |language=pl}}</ref> Honduras won {{nowrap|1–0}}, causing Salvadoran fans to reportedly set fire to the stadium.<ref name="Football War matches">{{cite web |last1=Veytskin |first1=Yuriy |last2=Lockerby |first2=Claire |last3=McMullen |first3=Steven |date=2009–2013 |editor1-last=Schorr |editor1-first=Matthew |editor2-last=Barrett |editor2-first=Lindsey |editor3-last=Leachman |editor3-first=Colby |title=The Soccer War |url=https://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/research-projects/the-soccer-war/#war |access-date=31 January 2022 |website=Soccer Politics |publisher=Duke University}}</ref>

The second game was held in [[San Salvador]], El Salvador's capital, on 15 June 1969. Salvadoran fans, seeking vengeance, rioted outside the [[Honduras national football team|Honduran team]]'s hotel, leading to several deaths.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Desplat |first=Juliette |date=20 July 2018 |title=World Cup fever at its worst: the 1969 Football War |url=https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/world-cup-fever-worst-1969-football-war/ |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=[[The_National_Archives_(United_Kingdom)| The National Archives]]}}</ref> At the match's start, a dirty rag was flown instead of the [[Flag of Honduras|Honduran flag]].<ref name="Football War matches" /> It was won {{Nowrap|3–0}} by El Salvador.<ref>{{cite book |title=Wars and Peace Treaties, 1816–1991 |last=Goldstein |first=Erik |year=1992 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-97682-1 |pages=195–196 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VjWnMm53xQ8C&q=football+war+honduras+el+salvador&pg=PA195 |access-date=4 July 2010 }}</ref> Anti-Salvadoran riots occurred across Honduras following the loss.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Mallin |first=Jay |title=Military Affairs Abroad: Salvador-Honduras War, 1969 |url=http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1970/mar-apr/mallin.html |journal=Air University Review |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=89 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123231505/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1970/mar-apr/mallin.html |archive-date=23 November 2007 |access-date=6 July 2024 |via=[[Air_University_(United_States_Air_Force)| Air University]]}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Kissinger |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Kissinger |date=15 July 1969 |title=644. Memorandum From the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon |url=https://static.history.state.gov/frus/frus1969-76ve10/pdf/d644.pdf |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=[[Office of the Historian]]}}</ref>

On 26 June 1969, the night before the play-off match in [[Mexico City]], which El Salvador would win {{Nowrap|3–2}} after [[Overtime (sports)|extra time]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 June 1969 |title=Troops Still Alerted; Soccer 'War' Won By El Salvador, 3-2 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=djft3U1LymYC&dat=19690628&printsec=frontpage |work=[[The Pittsburgh Press]] |pages=1 |via=[[Google Newspapers]] |agency=United Press International}}</ref> El Salvador dissolved all diplomatic ties with Honduras, stating that around 12,000 Salvadorans had been forced to flee Honduras in the days following the second match.<ref name=":0" /> It further claimed that "the Government of Honduras has not taken any effective measures to punish these crimes which constitute [[genocide]], nor has it given assurances of indemnification or reparations for the damages caused to Salvadorans".<ref name="Anderson-1981" />{{RP|105}}

=== Border skirmishes ===
On 3 July, Salvadoran [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] fired on a civilian [[Douglas DC-3]] in Honduran airspace, causing the [[Honduran Air Force]] ({{Langx|es|Fuerza Aérea Hondureña}}'','' FAH) to scramble two [[North American T-28 Trojan]]s<ref>{{Cite web |last=Serventi Merlo |first=Manuele |date=2017-09-04 |title=La guerra aerea e "del calcio" del 1969 |trans-title=The air and "football" war of 1969 |url=https://www.difesaonline.it/news-forze-armate/storia/la-guerra-aerea-e-del-calcio-del-1969 |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=Difesa Online |language=it }}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Coelich |first2=March |date=1 September 2003 |title=El Salvador vs Honduras, 1969: The 100-Hour War |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_156.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805043329/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_156.shtml |archive-date=5 August 2013 |access-date=16 July 2024 |url-status=usurped |website=Air Combat Information Group}}</ref> and forces stationed near the border town of El Poy to briefly clash.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 July 1969 |title=Latin soccer dispute leads to armed crash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pgFYAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+border&pg=PA1&article_id=1856,3340787 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=[[The Bulletin (Bend)|The Bulletin]] |pages=1 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=United Press International}}</ref> The same day, a [[Piper PA-28 Cherokee]], used by the [[Salvadoran Air Force]] ({{langx|es|Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña}}, FAS) as a [[reconnaissance plane]], was intercepted, but managed to escape capture.<ref name=":11" /> 

At the request of the Honduran foreign minister, the OAS held an emergency meeting the following day, where it was decided that the organization would "postpone any action of its own" and have the neighboring nations of [[Nicaragua]], [[Costa Rica]], and [[Guatemala]] mediate the situation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 July 1969 |title=OAS Steps In To Cool Fued |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C5MoAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+border&pg=PA2&article_id=5818,998132 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=[[The Deseret News]] |pages=2 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=United Press International}}</ref> Honduras and El Salvador were also both urged to "avoid any action that might further endanger the situation".<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 July 1969 |title=Mediation Plan Endorsed by OAS |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CIpjAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+border&pg=PA7&article_id=3119,546133 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=[[The_Telegraph_(Nashua,_New_Hampshire)|Nashua Telegraph]] |pages=7 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> However, the OAS resolution did little to reduce tensions as skirmishes continued. 

On 5 July, El Salvador claimed that two Honduran platoons had crossed the border.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 July 1969 |title=Salvador Traps 'Invadors' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCUSAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+border&pg=PA32&article_id=1780,1998072 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=[[The Spokesman-Review]] |pages=3 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> On 12 July, Honduras claimed that four Salvadoran soldiers had been killed in an incursion, something which El Salvador dismissed as part of a "continuing campaign of distortion of the truth".<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 1969 |title=San Salvador Denies Loss Of 4 Soldiers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JV9cAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+border&pg=PA93&article_id=2642,4173827 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=[[The Vindicator|The Youngstown Vindicator]] |page=D-13 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> On 13 July, six Honduran civilians were injured during another skirmish at El Poy, in which both sides exchanged [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] fire.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 July 1969 |title=Honduras Border Clash Continues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ScpRAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+border&pg=PA1&article_id=2458,1875887 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |pages=1 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 July 1969 |title=Honduras, El Salvador exchange fire across border |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgFYAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+border&pg=PA5&article_id=1160,3916252 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=The Bulletin |pages=5 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=United Press International}}</ref>
==War==
[[File:Mensaje FSH.JPG|thumb|right|A declaration made by Salvadoran President [[Fidel Sánchez Hernández]] regarding the war.]]
[[File:Chance-Vought F4U-5N Corsair (VH-III) taxiing during the 2015 Warbirds Downunder Airshow at Temora.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Vought F4U Corsair]] of the [[Honduran Air Force]], a type of aircraft used during the war.]]

The war began on 14 July 1969 at around 6 PM,<ref name=":2" /> when the FAS attacked Honduran airfields using [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51 Mustangs]],<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":4" /> as well as [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-47 Skytrains]] and civilian aircraft hastily converted into bombers.<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McKnight |first=Michael |date=2019-06-03 |title=The truth about 'The Soccer War' |url=https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/06/03/football-war-honduras-el-salvador |access-date=2024-07-16 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us}}</ref> They mainly targeted [[Toncontín International Airport]], where the FAH kept half of its aircraft.<ref name=":11" /> The [[Salvadoran Army]] then launched a two-front invasion of Honduras; one contingent headed to secure the prosperous [[Sula Valley]], while the other marched along the [[Pan-American Highway]] toward Tegucigalpa.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Cable |first=Vincent |year=1969 |title=The 'Football War' and the Central American Common Market |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/tomzgroup/pmwiki/uploads/1206-1969-Cable-a-JHS.pdf |journal=[[International Affairs (journal)| International Affairs]] |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)| Wiley]] |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=658–671 |doi=10.2307/2613335 |jstor=2613335 |via=Stanford University}}</ref>{{Rp|page=662}}<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Rouquié |first1=Alain |last2=Vale |first2=Michel |year=1973 |title=HONDURAS – EL SALVADOR, THE WAR OF ONE HUNDRED HOURS: A CASE OF REGIONAL 'DISINTEGRATION' |url=https://cooperative-individualism.org/rouquie-alain_honduras-el-salvador-1973-fall.pdf |journal=International Journal of Politics |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=17–51 |jstor=27868774 |via=The School of Cooperative Individualism}}</ref>{{Rp|page=20}} Troops were supported by [[M3A1 Stuart]]s, as well as bulldozers and trucks using [[Improvised vehicle armour|improvised vehicle armor]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Hills |first=Andrew |date=27 February 2020 |title=Light Tank M3A1 Stuart in El Salvadoran Service |url=https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/el-salvador/m3a1-stuart-salvadoran-service/ |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=The Online Tank Museum}}</ref> Initial progress was swift, with ''[[La Prensa Gráfica]]'' claiming they advanced {{Convert|40|km|mi}} in a single day.<ref name="baja">{{Cite web |date=13 July 2009 |title=100 Horas de Combate |trans-title=100 Hours of Combat |url=http://especiales.laprensagrafica.com/2009/guerradelascienhoras/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527110733/http://especiales.laprensagrafica.com/2009/guerradelascienhoras/ |archive-date=27 May 2017 |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=La Prensa Gráfica |language=es}}</ref> 

On 15 July, the FAH commenced bombings using their own fleet of [[World War II]]-era aircraft, mainly consisting of [[Vought F4U Corsair|F4U Corsairs]].<ref name=":5" />{{Rp|page=21}}<ref>{{cite book |title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |date=2009 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781851096725 |editor-last=Tucker |editor-first=Spencer C. |edition=illustrated |page=2463}}</ref> Sortie targets included the [[Ilopango International Airport]] and oil facilities in [[Acajutla]] and {{illm|Port Cutuco|es|Puerto Cutuco}}.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":8" /> El Salvador lost 20% of its fuel reserves in the raids. However, despite the operation's success, the FAH went on the defensive for the rest of the war following a second FAS attack on Toncontín.<ref name=":11" />

On 16 July, in the only major battle of the war, Salvadoran troops led by Colonel Mario (“El Diablo”) Velázquez Jandres, reached and surrounded [[Nueva Ocotepeque]], pressing defenses in what [[TIME]] described as a "narrow defile". Following artillery barrages, Honduran forces retreated alongside civilians, leading to the town's capture.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=TIME>{{Cite magazine |date=1969-07-25 |title=Central America: A Population Explosion |url=https://time.com/archive/6637203/central-america-a-population-explosion/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |magazine=TIME }}</ref> Both fronts stalled later that day due to an ammunition shortage and increasing Honduran resistance.<ref name=troop#/>

One of the last engagements of the war took place on the afternoon of 17 July, a dogfight which involved 4 Corsairs and 2 Mustangs. Captain [[Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez]], a Salvadoran, was killed;<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Lerner |first=Preston |date=1 September 2015 |title=The Last Piston-Engine Dogfights |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/last-piston-engine-dogfights-180956250/ |access-date=2019-02-08 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> he was the highest-ranking casualty of the war.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cornejo Escobar |first=Douglas A. |title=Biografia del Capitan P.A. Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez |trans-title=Biography of Captain P.A. Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez |url=http://www.fas.gob.sv/cima/biografia_cortez.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202221809/http://www.fas.gob.sv/cima/biografia_cortez.html |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |access-date=December 1, 2012 |website=Fuezera Aerea El Salvador |publisher= |language=Spanish}}</ref> The Football War was the last conflict in which piston-engined fighters fought each other.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite magazine |last1=Lyford |first1=Chuck |last2=Tillman |first2=Barret |date=1 December 2012 |title=Corsairs vs. Mustangs: the last dogfight |url=https://www.flightjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Soccer-War.pdf |access-date=16 July 2024 |magazine=[[Flight Journal]] |pages=16–24 |issue=}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Nate |date=25 June 2010 |title=Document Friday: The Football War |url=https://unredacted.com/2010/06/25/document-friday-the-football-war/ |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=Unredacted |publisher=[[National Security Archive]]}}</ref>

==Ceasefire==
Soon after the start of the war, the OAS held a special session, organizing a seven nation committee to oversee negotiations and calling for a cease-fire.<ref name=":2" /> While Honduran officials were reportedly willing, El Salvador resisted OAS pressure for several days, with one of the biggest sticking points, according to the [[CIA]], being the time window given for troops to be withdrawn.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 July 1969 |title=Central Intelligence Bulletin: 18 July 1969 |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000941825.pdf |access-date=2 June 2024 |website=CIA.gov}}</ref> 

A cease-fire was arranged on the night of 18 July, which required Salvadoran troops to withdraw within 96 hours and an end to "inflammatory press, radio, and T.V. campaigns", among other things. It took effect at midnight.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kissinger |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Kissinger |date=18 July 1969 |title=647. Memorandum From the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon |url=https://static.history.state.gov/frus/frus1969-76ve10/pdf/d647.pdf |access-date=2 June 2024 |website=Office of the Historian}}</ref>

=== Delayed withdrawal ===
Soon before the initial 96 hour deadline, the Salvadoran government sent a document to the OAS, stating, while it would continue to hold the cease-fire, it would not withdraw troops until a guarantee of safety for Salvadorans still living in Honduras was given, reparations were paid, and anti-Salvadoran rioters were punished.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 July 1969 |title=649. Central Intelligence Agency Information Cable, TDCS 314/10866–69 |url=https://static.history.state.gov/frus/frus1969-76ve10/pdf/d649.pdf |access-date=2 June 2024 |website=Office of the Historian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Moleon |first=Ary |date=22 July 1969 |title=Salvadorans Demand Payment for Damages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FIpjAAAAIBAJ&dq=Honduras+accuses+Salvador&pg=PA5&article_id=5614,2389526 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=Nashua Telegraph |pages=5 |via=Google Newspapers |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Honduras only fulfilled the first demand, but El Salvador relented after the OAS threatened sanctions, resulting in troops withdrawing on 2 August 1969.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|pages=662-663}}

==Consequences==
El Salvador suffered up to 700 casualties throughout the course of the war, including 107 deaths. Three aircraft were also destroyed in Honduran air raids. Official records state Honduras suffered 165 casualties, including 99 deaths, but such numbers have been disputed;<ref name="casualty">{{Cite book |last=Clodfelter |first=Micheal |url=https://archive.org/details/warfarearmedconf0000clod/page/682/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1494-2007 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780786433193 |edition=3rd |pages=682 |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Nueva Ocotepeque's parish priest reportedly saw 400 dead<!-- soldiers -->,<ref name="TIME" /> while internal CIA documents report up to 1,500.<ref name="CIA" /> Most historians agree that civilians accounted for the majority of the losses.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=El Salvador - The 1969 War with Honduras |url=https://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/10.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006041730/https://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/10.htm |archive-date=6 October 2012 |access-date=2 June 2024 |website=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]}}</ref>

Some 300,000 Salvadorans had been displaced; many had been forcibly exiled or had fled from war-torn Honduras, only to enter an El Salvador in which the government was not welcoming. Most of these refugees were forced to provide for themselves with very little assistance. Over the next few years, more Salvadorans returned to their native land, where they encountered overpopulation and extreme poverty.<ref name="Anderson-1981" />{{RP|145–155}} The resulting social unrest was one of the causes of the [[Salvadoran Civil War]], which followed approximately a decade later in which 70,000 to 80,000 died and a further 8,000 more disappeared.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dutra Salgado |first=Pedro |date=22 February 2024 |title=The 100-hour war between El Salvador and Honduras is famous for starting with a football match – the truth is more complicated |url=https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/blogs/democratic-citizenship/the-100-hour-war-between-el-salvador-and-honduras-is-famous-for-starting-with-a-football-match-the-truth-is-more-complicated |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=University of Portsmouth}}</ref>

Trade between Honduras and El Salvador, which had been heavily disrupted pre-war,<ref name=":1" /> was outright stopped following it.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" />{{Rp|page=22}} Honduras would go on to leave and thereby further weaken the already ailing [[Central American Common Market]], a regional integration project that had been set up by the United States largely as a means of counteracting the effects of the [[Cuban Revolution]].<ref name=":5" />{{Rp|page=38}}<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=W. Gordon |first=Michael |year=1978 |title=The CACM Nations, Panama and Belize: Prospects and Barriers to Trade with the United States and the Caribbean Basin |url=https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1097&context=mjil |journal=Maryland Journal of International Law |publisher=[[University of Maryland, Baltimore]] |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=20–36 |via=DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Although it had initiated the war, El Salvador played in the [[1970 FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]; it was eliminated after losing its first three matches against the [[Soviet Union national football team|USSR]], [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]], and [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico ™ – Groups |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/mexico1970/groups/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224145302/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/mexico1970/groups/index.html |archive-date=24 February 2015 |access-date=22 January 2019 |website=FIFA |publisher=}}</ref>

Eleven years after the conflict the two nations signed a peace treaty in [[Lima, Peru]] on 30 October 1980<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 November 1980 |title=Tratado general de paz entre las republicas de El Salvador y de Honduras |trans-title=General peace treaty between the republics of El Salvador and Honduras |url=http://lcweb5.loc.gov/glin/jurisdictions/El_Salvador/pdfs/12624-26952.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224203025/http://lcweb5.loc.gov/glin/jurisdictions/El_Salvador/pdfs/12624-26952.pdf |archive-date=24 February 2015 |work=[[National_Press_of_El_Salvador| Diario Oficial]] |language=es |via=lcweb5.loc.gov}}</ref> and agreed to resolve the border dispute over the [[Gulf of Fonseca]] and five sections of land boundary through the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ). In 1992, the Court awarded most of the disputed territory to Honduras, and in 1998, Honduras and El Salvador signed a border demarcation treaty to implement the terms of the ICJ decree. The total disputed land area given to Honduras after the court's ruling was around {{convert|374.5|sqkm|sqmi|0|sp=us|abbr=on}}. In the Gulf of Fonseca the court found that Honduras held sovereignty over the island of [[Tiger Island|El Tigre]], and El Salvador over the islands of [[Meanguera del Golfo|Meanguera]] and Meanguerita.<ref name="Kawas">{{cite web|author=Kawas, Jorge|title=El Salvador: Sovereignty issues over Gulf of Fonseca|date=18 March 2013|work=Pulsa Merica|url=http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/2013/03/18/el-salvador-sovereignty-issues-over-gulf-of-fonseca/|access-date=7 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409053158/http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/2013/03/18/el-salvador-sovereignty-issues-over-gulf-of-fonseca/|archive-date=9 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The dispute continued despite the ICJ ruling. At a meeting in March 2012 President [[Porfirio Lobo]] of Honduras, [[President of Guatemala|President]] [[Otto Pérez]] of Guatemala, and [[President of Nicaragua|President]] [[Daniel Ortega]] of Nicaragua all agreed that the Gulf of Fonseca would be designated as a peace zone. El Salvador was not at the meeting. However, in December 2012, El Salvador agreed to a tripartite commission of government representatives from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua that was to take care of territorial disputes through peaceful means and come up with a solution by 1 March 2013. The commission did not meet after December, and in March 2013 stiff letters threatening military action were exchanged between Honduras and El Salvador.<ref name="Kawas" />

==See also==
{{Portal|El Salvador}}
*[[El Salvador–Honduras relations]]
*[[Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Armstrong, Robert and Janet Shenk. (1982). ''El Salvador: The Face of a Revolution''. Boston: South End Press. {{ISBN|9780861043774}}
*Diamond, Jared. (2012). ''The World Until Yesterday''. New York: Viking. {{ISBN|9780713998986}}
*Durham, William H. (1979). ''Scarcity and Survival in Central America: Ecological Origins of the Football War''. Stanford: [[Stanford University Press]].
*Skidmore, T., and Smith, P. (2001). ''Modern Latin America'' (5th ed.). New York: [[Oxford University Press]].
*Walzer, Michael. (1977). ''[[Just and Unjust Wars]]''. New York: Basic Books.

==External links==
{{Commons category|1969 Honduras-El Salvador Soccer War}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131224112605/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1970/mar-apr/mallin.html Salvador-Honduras War, 1969]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131003035531/http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/sierra/soccer1969.htm Soccer War 1969]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031011112245/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_156.shtml El Salvador vs Honduras, 1969: The 100-Hour War]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140305094157/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&k=2e&case=75&code=sh&p3=5 ''Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras: Nicaragua intervening)''], International Court of Justice case registry
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141116085809/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&k=2e&case=127&code=esh&p3=5 ''Application for Revision of the Judgment of 11 September 1992 in the Case concerning the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras: Nicaragua intervening) (El Salvador v. Honduras)''], International Court of Justice case registry

{{El Salvador national football team}}
{{Honduras national football team}}
{{1970 FIFA World Cup qualification}}
{{Wars of the 20th century}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Football War}}
[[Category:History of Central America]]
[[Category:El Salvador–Honduras sports relations]]
[[Category:Wars involving El Salvador]]
[[Category:Wars involving Honduras]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1969]]
[[Category:Attacks in Honduras]]
[[Category:1969 in El Salvador]]
[[Category:1969 in Honduras]]
[[Category:July 1969 in North America]]
[[Category:1969 in Central American football]]
[[Category:1969–70 in Honduran football]]
[[Category:1969 in Salvadoran sport]]
[[Category:1969 in Central America]]
[[Category:1969 in Honduran sport]]
[[Category:El Salvador at the 1970 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:1970 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
[[Category:Honduras national football team]]
[[Category:El Salvador national football team]]
[[Category:Association football controversies]]
[[Category:Politics and sports]]
[[Category:Association football riots]]