The Football War The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a term coined by Polish reporter Ryszard Kapuściński to describe a brief conflict between El Salvador and neighbouring
Honduras. He argued that the war began after the rival nations traded wins during the qualifying round for the
1970 FIFA World Cup. But this event was not the cause of the war. Tensions had been mounting between both nations for several years because of immigration and economic problems, resulting on the war in 1969. The soccer matches incidents just one of several events that happened during that time. Longstanding tensions between the countries were heightened by media reports on both sides, each accusing the other of
hooliganism and violence toward their own football fans. On June 26, 1969, El Salvador dissolved all ties with Honduras, the events were used as a call for nationalist pride for both governments and the media. On July 14 Salvadoran forces began moving rapidly into Honduras following a series of border clashes. Their progress halted after the
Organization of American States (OAS) and the
United States brought heavy diplomatic pressure to bear on both governments in an effort to effect a cease-fire. A ceasefire was ultimately negotiated and signed by July 18, with Salvadoran forces withdrawing from Honduras by August 2 following guarantees of safety for Salvadoran citizens in Honduras by the Honduran government.
The Salvadoran Civil War By the late 1970s, longstanding socio-economic inequality, human rights violations and the unwillingness of the
National Conciliation Party dictatorship to address these problems led to the growth of a social movement. The government responded by assassinating thousands of political opponents and massacring students and protestors on several occasions. The heavy handed response of the government signaled to those identifying with the social movement that peaceful solutions were futile, which led to the growth of an insurgency. On October 15, 1979, the military government
was deposed by a joint military-civilian government calling itself the
Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador (JRG). The JRG's policies were met with opposition from the military and economic elites and government repression increased, with tens of thousands of civilians being killed in 1980 and 1981 alone. This led to the formation of the
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), which brought on a twelve-year civil war. On March 24, 1980 Major
Roberto D'Aubuisson ordered the killing of Archbishop
Óscar Romero; on December 8, 1980 five members of the Salvadoran Army kidnapped and killed missionaries Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline Dorothy Kazel, and lay missionary Jean Donovan under the orders of
Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova and his cousin Col. Óscar Edgardo Casanova Vejar, the local military commander in Zacatecoluca, As of 1981, according to a report by U.S. general
Frederick Woerner, the Salvadoran Army was organized to fight a conventional conflict like the Football War, and was described as "a militia of 11,000" that spent most of its time "sitting in garrisons abusing civilians." Salvadoran troops mostly performed static defense at checkpoints and critical infrastructure. Reforming the army was deemed to expensive by the
Ronald Reagan administration, which chose the option of providing just enough assistance to prevent an FMLN victory. Green Berets from the U.S.
7th Special Forces Group provided assistance to the Salvadoran Army. The initial phase from 1981 to 1984 focused on the use of over forty Green Beret mobile teams to train, advise, and expand the force from 11,000 to 42,000 men — inside the country, in neighboring countries, and in the United States. The next phase, until 1991, saw several advisors attached to every Salvadoran brigade to focus on increasing their effectiveness. Mobile teams continued to work with Salvadoran forces as needed during the second phase, but on a greatly reduced scale. Because reorganizing the entire Salvadoran Army was too difficult, U.S. advisors focused on creating new units that had been use effectively against insurgencies in other Latin American countries. Highly mobile
cazador (hunter) battalions of 250 to 350 conscripts were formed and trained by U.S. and
Venezuelan advisors. However, the new battalions proved too weak to take on well-organized and experienced FMLN units. They were replaced by
Batallones de Infantería de Reacción Inmediata (quick reaction infantry battalions, BIRIs). The BIRIs received six months of training from Green Berets instead of six weeks and functioned like
Ranger units. They were under the direct command of the Salvadoran General Staff, but were often based at the same facilities as the six regular army brigades, and were used as a rapid reaction force. The army had two-year conscription in effect during the war, and sometimes entire units were created from the draft, including the BIRIs. When they completed their terms, the entire unit was dissolved, and only some officers and a few NCOs chose to stay in the army. The terms of the
Chapultepec Peace Accords, in effect from January 1992, caused the Salvadoran Army to be reduced by half, and every BIRI was disbanded.
The Iraq War IV Soldier is helping support Operation Iraqi Freedom, which is being conducted mainly by Coalition Forces in Hillah. Up to 380 Salvadoran troops of the
Cuscatlán Battalion were deployed as part of the
Coalition Forces in Iraq between August 2003 and January 2009. They operated alongside the elite
Spanish Legion in
Najaf. While in Iraq, the Salvadoran contingent suffered 5 dead, and more than 50 wounded. In 2006 the government of
El Salvador approached the Israeli ambassador to El Salvador seeking assistance in modernising its army. ==Organizational structure==