SOCCER ⚽ WAR or PEACE?

Most people if not all agree that football is the most popular game in the world, but does football really help to create understanding and friendship between countries?
Sepp Blatter, The former President of FIFA, the international football federation which organizes the world cup, believes that it does.
Few years back Mr Blatter said that "football can bring the people of the world together and make us one."

He once announced that the new official motto of the organization; 'Make the game better, take it to the world, and make the World a better place.'
Every four years about one billion people watch the World Cup, when the last sixteety-four teams fight it out in the country selected for the finals, e.g Japan and South Korea in 2002, Germany in 2006, South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018. Every football fan in Africa prays that the African Teams will be one of the finalists in this great international sporting event.

However, football doesn't always bring peace and understanding between nations. Some couple of decades years back it caused a full-scale war, known as 'The Soccer War', between neighbors El Salvador and Honduras. During a match between their national teams, the Honduran players were insulted and attacked by Salvadoran fans. The situation got worse during the return match in San Salvador, Honduran fans were beaten up, their flag and national anthem were insulted and the people of both nations became extremely angry.
A few days later the Salvadoran Army and their Air Force attacked Honduras and the war began. It lasted only a few weeks, but it left 3,000 dead, 6,000 wounded and caused $50 million in damage.

Strong rivalry between groups of football hooligans can also cause violence at matches. Sometimes, innocent fans are killed trying to escape the fighting. For example; the fighting broke out between rival supporters at the 1985 European Cup Final between Juventus of Italy and Liverpool of England. Many people were killed when a wall collapse onto the Italian fans.

There was more football hooliganism in Accra, when rival gangs of fans fought at a match between the capital's two top teams, Heart of Oak and Asante Kotoko. 126 people were crushed to death when they panicked and started running for the exits.

However, most football matches are played in a sporting spirit. Nigerians, Cameron's, South African, Ghanaian, Senegalese, Moroccan, Egyptians, and other several countries fans usually good humored and Generous, and praise the skills that rivals teams display. Also many African soccer stars are playing for European clubs and Asian clubs, where they have a reputation for super skills and sporting conduct.

In fact, since those dark days of the last century, football authorities in most countries have made big efforts to stamp out hooliganism. And all the countries who have hosted the world Cup in the 21st century have created a Joyfully, Friendly atmosphere amongst fans who have travelled there from every continent.