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Togo 'will play in Africa Cup of Nations'

by stejeb | January 9, 2010 at 11:06 pm

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FIFA will be pleased to hear this morning that the Togo national team will play in the tournaament after all.

It was a decision arrived at unanimously after a team meeting last night. Their captain, Emanuelle Adebayor, was expected back in the UK by his club Manchester City, but following the change of heart by the Togo team, Man City will have to struggle on without his skills in their side.

Togo's football team has decided to play in the African Nations Cup, even though the government withdrew it after a deadly attack on Friday, players say.

Thomas Dossevi told the AFP news agency the players wanted to stay in Angola in memory of the three people who were killed when rebels fired on their bus.

L'Equipe quoted Alaixys Romao as saying the team would not leave like cowards.

Togo has demanded Angola explain why it was not warned of the dangers of travel in Cabinda, where the bus was ambushed.

Angolan officials had earlier expressed astonishment that the team had travelled there by road from their base in the Republic of Congo.

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stejeb

at 04:36 on January 10th, 2010

Me too, if we start letting the terrorists stop events like this we will most surely have lost.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 06:52 on January 10th, 2010

It seems that Togo has ordered the team home, despite their vote.

Togo has ordered its footballers home from the Africa Cup of Nations, even though the squad itself wants to stay and take to the pitch in the wake of Friday's ambush on their convoy that left at least two dead and several wounded.

Just hours before the 22-day tournament's opening match between Angola and Mali, the Togolese players said they wanted to honour those killed by sticking with their fixtures, starting with a Group B opener on Monday against Ghana.

But Togolese Prime Minister Gilbert Houngbo said they must return home immediately, as goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale recovered from gunshot wounds in a South African hospital.

"We understand the position of the players who want to in some way avenge their dead colleagues, but it would be irresponsible for the Togolese authorities to allow them to continue," Mr Houngbo told reporters in Lome.