By Christopher Boulay
Togo’s national football team has been disqualified from the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola only days after their team bus was attacked by terrorists while traveling to the tournament.
CAF, the African football governing body held a press conference Monday to inform reporters that Togo will not be allowed to continue in the tournament.
“The referee has received the order to blow the starting whistle and if the Togolese players are not there, they will have lost the match and will be disqualified,” a CAF official said Monday.
Reports had said members of Togo’s national team wanted to play on to honor the dead and wounded, but the Togolese government ordered their return to the West African nation. Until the announcement came, many players had hoped to continue.
The official also said “Togo have not taken official steps to come back and play the African Nations Cup. We have just heard this rumour in the press.”
The attack occurred in the disputed province of Cabinda, where a ceasefire has been in place since 2006. The Front for the Liberation of the Republic of Cabinda-Miliary Position, a part of the larger FLEC group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Togo’s sports minister Christophe Tchao told the BBC that reports of the team planning on returning to the tournament were inaccurate.
“The information that has been circulated on some websites saying the players are just back for three days’ mourning and will then go back playing is quite wrong,” he said. “We withdrew our team on the basis they have been the victim of a terrorist attack.”
The tournament will go on as scheduled, with Group B as a three team group consisting of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire.
Three people died during the attack, including the team’s bus driver Mario Adjoua, press officer Stan Ocloo and assistant coach Amalete Abalo. Goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilalé was shot and seriously wounded and is currently in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa. Manager Hubert Velud was shot in the arm. Four other members of the team’s entourage were injured.
Despite Togo’s failure to clearly communicate their intentions to CAF, this should not overshadow the great problems that abound in Africa when it comes to violence against footballers. Both CAF and South Africa will be under FIFA’s and the world’s magnifying glasses as we get closer to the opening ceremonies for the World Cup in June.
Written By Christopher
Boulay
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
This incident is isolated, in relation to when one looks at South Africa anyway. This is a case of a disputed Angolan border, and should be seen in that context only.
It should also be noted that Togo was advised NOT to travel through the roads as there are advisories for all travelling that takes up more than two hours to be routed via plane instead.
Just my two cents on the issue.