In 1967 the two sides in the Nigerian civil war agreed to a 48-hour cease fire so they could watch Pele play an exhibition match in Lagos. And in July 1969, several days after El Salvador beat Honduras 3-2 in overtime in the decisive third game of a World Cup qualifying series, the Salvadoran army attacked Honduras beginning the "100-Hour War," also known as "The Football War."
Perhaps the greatest display of the power of soccer over world events - if it actually occurred - was the so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 when British and German soldiers are said to have suspended hostilities on Christmas Eve and played a huge soccer game in a no-man's land between the two lines.
In accounts I have read there appears to be some dispute among historians as to whether such a game actually took place. But, Lt. Kurt Zehmisch of Germany's 134th Saxons Infantry Regiment is said to have witnessed a match and written, "Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as our friends for a time."
My guess is there is some truth to the various accounts and that perhaps there were a few small games here and there, certainly not anything resembling an organized match. But the legend is recognized more than 100 years later and the English Premier League has been running a Christmas Truce Tournament in Ypres, Belgium since 2011.
In the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the truce, CNN ran a good piece about it on line.
It is idealistic but still nice to think how much better the world would be if nations resolved their conflicts on a soccer pitch instead of a battlefield.
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