The Soccer War

About the Book

The Soccer War (Wojna futbolowa) is a collection of reportages by Ryszard Kapuściński, published in 1978, summing up his years as the only correspondent of the Polish Press Agency in Africa and Latin America. It is a record of a world in fever — of the revolutions, coups and wars the author witnessed on three continents.

The title comes from the most famous text in the volume: an account of the brief, absurd war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, sparked directly by a football match in the World Cup qualifiers. Kapuściński shows how, behind a seemingly trivial, sporting pretext, lay the real causes: poverty, border tensions, migration and the political manipulation of the crowd’s emotions.

Around this story the author weaves scenes from Africa and Latin America — from the Congo, Algeria, Nigeria and Honduras — together with the recurring “plan” of a great book about revolution that he never wrote. As a result, The Soccer War is at once a reportage from the front line, a reflection on the craft of the war correspondent, and a story about how violence is born and erupts. It is one of Kapuściński’s most personal books, full of risk, fever and reporter’s passion.

Themes

• Sport as an extension of political conflict
• Nationalism and national identity
• Bias and propaganda in the media
• Tragedy from a reporter’s perspective

Style

A reportage that reveals the complexity hidden beneath apparently simple conflicts.

Polish Editions

See the list of Polish editions of The Soccer War with ISBN numbers.