''The Soccer War'' is a 1978 book by

Ryszard Kapuściński Ryszard Kapuściński (; 4 March 1932 – 23 January 2007) was a Polish journalist, photographer, poet and author. He received many prestigious awards and was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kapuściński's personal jo ...

, the Polish press correspondent in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

in the 1960s. The eponymous Soccer War erupts between the Central American Republics of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, partially as a result of a football match between teams of the two countries. The deeper reasons for the conflict were political. The book features a collection of stories from the life of the reporter and journalist as he travels into countries such as Congo, Kenya and Nigeria, then undergoing severe conflict.

Critical reception

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' reporter Dylan Foley called it "a masterpiece of war journalism."The Heroic and the Bloodthirsty, Foley, Dynan, 30 September 2001, Hartford Couran

Filming rights to the book have been purchased by

Philippe Falardeau Philippe Falardeau (; born February 1, 1968, in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Early life Falardeau was born and raised in Hull, Quebec. He later studied political science at the University of Ottawa, before trave ...

References

1978 non-fiction books Association football books Books by Ryszard Kapuściński {{sport-book-stub