Fabled Nigeria Vs India Match That Ended 99–1? .. Everything You Need To Know About The Game
internet must have heard the tale of a non-existent
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 were 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 realise 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.
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