Political Fútbol

Grant Wahl
Sports Illustrated
October 12, 2009

When the U.S. visits Honduras on Saturday with a chance to clinch a spot in the 2010 World Cup, the setting will give new meaning to the notion of a tough road-game environment. Honduras sank deeper into Central America's worst political crisis in years on Sept. 21, when deposed president Manuel Zelaya (run off by a coup on June 28) sneaked back into the country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy. The de facto government responded harshly—suspending civil liberties, quashing demonstrations and temporarily closing the country's airports—but last week FIFA announced that the U.S.-Honduras game would take place as scheduled in San Pedro Sula, about 100 miles from the capital city of Tegucigalpa, where most of the turmoil is centered.

In purely soccer terms it's an important match for both teams. With a victory the U.S. would qualify for its sixth straight World Cup. A win for Honduras would bring the Catrachos tantalizingly close to their first Cup berth since 1982. But World Cup qualifying in Central America is rarely just about soccer. Honduras, after all, was the site of the infamous Soccer War, a four-day armed conflict with neighboring El Salvador that was sparked by contentious qualifying games for the 1970 World Cup. At least 2,000 died as a result of El Salvador's invasion...

...The U.S.-Honduras result could even have an impact on domestic political support for either the de facto government or the deposed Zelaya. "A home team that wins and has the potential to get to the World Cup would provide some really positive feelings for the [Honduran] population generally," says Eric Farnsworth, the vice president of the Council of the Americas, a U.S.-based business group that promotes free trade in the region. "You could certainly paint the scenario whereby a victory would transfer to increased political support for the government in place."

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