Almost every Nigerian is familiar with the legendary India vs Nigeria football match, which reportedly ended with India winning by a score of 99-1.
Prior to the widespread use of the internet, this tale circulated widely in Nigeria, but with the rise of social media and easy access to information, the reality of the match has been uncovered.
While there are several versions of the story, they all share some commonalities.
- The consensus among various accounts of the India vs Nigeria football match is that India scored 99 goals while Nigeria managed to score only one.
- They said Nigerians couldn’t kick the ball because the football kept turning to a lion which scared them away.
- According to some versions of the story, the Indians purportedly made a deal that if Nigeria could score a single goal, they would concede defeat.
- One of the most popular versions of the tale suggests that Samuel Okwaraji, the Nigerian footballer, scored the lone goal, but tragically lost his life in the process, as the ball reportedly turned into stone just as he was about to kick it.
- There is a widespread belief among some Nigerians that India was banned from playing soccer by FIFA due to their use of juju (black magic) during the legendary match.
Despite the absence of internet back then, the claims about the India vs Nigeria match should have been recognized as “big fat lies”. However, the fact that India was rarely seen playing in international soccer matches gave some credence to the story.
Additionally, credible information was not easily accessible in Nigeria at the time, which allowed such falsehoods to thrive. It’s possible that the story was fabricated by a community elder who shared it with children during an evening gathering.
On August 12, 1989, Nigeria lost one of its best footballers, Sam Okwaraji, who tragically died during a football match. However, the India vs Nigeria 99-1 match story falsely claimed that Okwaraji died during the mythical match, when in reality he passed away during a FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Angola in the 77th minute, due to cognitive heart failure. May his soul rest in peace.
The only truthful aspect of the India vs Nigeria 99-1 match story is the fact that a Nigerian player died during a football match. The match was not against India, Nigeria did not lose the match, and there were no lions or balls turning into stones. In fact, India was never banned by FIFA; they withdrew from the tournament themselves. Here’s what happened…
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) informed India that they could not participate in the 1950 FIFA World Cup without proper footwear. However, something unusual happened during the determination of the teams to participate in the tournament.
FIFA had reserved slots for the two defending finalists, Brazil and Italy, leaving fourteen slots for other teams. Seven of those slots were designated for Europe, six for the Americas, and one for Asia. Unfortunately, out of the four Asian teams invited to the World Cup, three withdrew from the tournament before the qualification round. As a result, India received an automatic slot in the World Cup, marking their first appearance in the tournament.
However, India also withdrew from the tournament after FIFA refused to allow them to compete without footwear.