Everything You Need To Know About The Nigeria Vs
India Match
Virtually everybody born before the invention of the
internet must have heard the tale of a nonexistent
football match between Nigeria and India that obviously
took place in a parallel universe and somehow we got to
hear the gory stories of that match.
Though there are many variations of the story, every
prevaricator seems to agree on a couple of facts about
this fictional football match. Each storyteller agrees that;
1. This match ended with India scoring 99 goals and
Nigeria scoring just one goal.
2. Nigerians where unable to kick the ball because the
football kept turning to a lion (or something scary) to
prevent them from playing the soccer ball.
3. The Indians later agreed that if Nigeria could score a
goal, they would concede defeat
4. Samuel Okwaraji scored the winning goal and lost his
life in the process.
5. FIFA banned India from soccer because they used
black magic in that very game
With the help of common sense (not that it was absent
back then), quick access to information and the internet,
every right thinking Nigerian has come to realize that
such a story should be filled under "Blatant Lies".
Why Did This Story Thrive For So Long?
Most people like to pass off this story as true with the
fact that no one has ever seen India in an International
Football Match. Since no one actually saw India
participate in most international soccer games, this gave
a little credence to the story. India
Another reason this lie could thrive for long was the fact
that credible information was not readily available at our
finger tips. It not like every Emeka, Audu and Ojo could
visit Google in a matter of minutes and tell our ominous
fabricators that they should stop spreading toxic lies.
And to be honest we have a tingling feeling that this lie
was concocted by an elder of a community because, let's
be honest who questions the words of the elders in
Nigeria. Remember, what an adult sees sitting down a
child will never see even if he consults Google, Siri or
Cortana.
The Element of Truth In This Story
On the 12th of August 1989, Nigeria lost Sam Okwaraji.
Sam Okwaraji was the player rumored to have lost his
life in that game when in truth he died during a FIFA
World Cup qualifying game against Angola in the 77th
minute.
He collapsed and died of cognitive heart failure. May his
soul rest in Perfect Peace. AMEN
So that is the only truthful thing about that story, the
fact that a Nigerian player died during a football match.
That's it. The match was not against India, we did not
lose the match and as you must have guessed, and there
were no lions either.
What Is The Deal With India Anyway?
India qualified for the 1950 FIFA world cup as a result of
the withdrawal of their scheduled opponents. But the
Indian football governing body, the All India Football
Federation (AIFF) decided against going to the world
cup, being unable to understand the importance of the
event at that time.
Some of the Reasons shown by the AIFF included the
cost of travel, lack of practice time, team selection
issued and valuing the Olympics over the FIFA World
cup. It should be noted that FIFA agreed to bear a major
part of the travel expenses, but it did not really help
their decision making.
Was India Banned For Refusing To Play Barefoot?
No.
The 1948 London Olympics was India's first major
international tournament, where a predominantly
barefoot Indian team lost 2 -1 to France.
Following the 1948 Olympics FIFA imposed a rule
banning barefoot play.
The belief that the Indian team refused to play because
they were not allowed to play barefoot is not entirely
true according to the then team captain who said it was
just a story to cover the disastrous decision of the AFIF.
After the 1950 fiasco, India has never come close to
qualifying for the World Cup.
The reason you do not see India in World Cup
competitions is because they do not qualify
So Does The Indian Team Wear Soccer Boots?
Yes.
In the 1952 Olympics, the Indian team lost 10 – 1 to
Yugoslavia (talking about taking a beating). As a result
of this magnanimous defeat the AIFF made it compulsory
for its team members to wear boots
Is it Possible to win a match with a 99 – 1 match
margin?
Yes.
It is absolutely possible to rake 99 – 1 from a single
football match. Let's take a walk down memory lane and
see how this is even possible. Now allow us to digress.
The highest scoring soccer game was 149-0!
You're probably wondering how a soccer team could be
so bad that they let 149 goals be scored, but the truth is
it was a form of protest. The event occurred in 2002 after
a 2-2 draw between rival teams Stade Olympique de
L'emyrne, or SOE, and AS Adema of Madagascar, which
resulted in the referees awarding a penalty causing SOE
to lose the game.
During a match fixing debacle in Nigeria, the Feeders
scored 72 of their 79-0 victory in 45 minutes of play.
Police Machine scored 61 of their 67-0 victory in the
second half. At one point, they scored four goals in a
minute.
Arbroath won Bon Accord 36 – 0 in 1885. It held the
largest margin of victory in professional football where
both sides wanted to win.
So, yes, given the "right circumstances", a team could
actually receive 99 – 1 beating without any black magic
whatsoever.
Did we miss something? Please be sure to let us know in
the comment section below
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