Adebayor: Togo to withdraw from African Cup of Nations

Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor has told French radio his team will head home from the African Nations Cup this afternoon on the advice of the Togolese government.

The players have now agreed and Togolese president Faure Gnassingbe has dispatched his presidential plane to collect them.

Adebayor told French radio station RMC:“The head of state (Gnassingbe) has decided we will return.

“There was a meeting between players yesterday (Saturday) and we said we were still footballers.

“We all decided to do something good for the country and play to honour those who died.

“Unfortunately, the head of state and the country’s authorities have decided otherwise. We will pack up and go home.”

Adebayor’s comments come after Houngbo announced the government’s decision earlier today.

The Togolese prime minister told L’Equipe: “We understand the approach of players who wanted to express a way to avenge their fallen comrades, but it would be irresponsible on the part of the authorities to let them continue.

“The team must return today. The government’s decision is unchanged.

“It is a conscious decision since Friday. If a team or a person present themselves under the banner of Togo, it would be a false representation.”

Manchester City striker Adebayor revealed a conversation he held with Gnassingbe this morning had proved decisive.

“That’s what made the difference,” he said. “It was also our families and loved ones at home who called us. They told us we could continue if we wished but that it is the authorities who have the information.

“Is there going to be another attack? Nobody knows. If they asked us back (home), maybe they received a call saying that the threat was not passed.

“We are obliged to respect that. The head of state knows what is good for our careers and our lives.”

He added: “The presidential plane will pick us up.

“He told me that the plane had left Lome. There are about two hours flying between Lome and Cabinda. We will leave in two or three hours.”

Togo’s prime minister Gilbert Houngbo said the players were still in a state of shock and were not secure. He said Togo’s presidential plane has been dispatched to Angola to take the team back to Lome.

“Angola and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have not taken adequate security measures to ensure the safety of the Togolese national team,” Houngbo said.

Adebayor admitted he had wanted to play on despite fear of another attack, but accepted the authorities knew best.

“This Friday at 2:30pm, we were all dead on that bus,” he said. “We sent our last messages to our families. We called our family to say our last words.

“I told myself: ’If you’re still there on the ground in Angola, why not (play in) the CAN?’

“Today, the authorities decided we should return, so we will return.”

Adebayor revealed he has spoken to members of the Ivory Coast and Ghana camps - two of Togo’s Group B opponents – who appeared to back a boycott but now seem set to continue.

“As captain and spokesman of Togo, I spoke with all authorities. I told them to take the measures necessary for our security.

“I spoke with the captain and the Ivory Coast delegation and with Ghanaians. They expressed their support by saying they were ready to leave the competition if we did.

“(But) at the end of the day, we realised that they were ready to continue. It is still a continent where a World Cup will take place in South Africa.

“If we speak of the dead, the competition should have been cancelled. But CAF (Confederation of African Football) have decided otherwise.

“We’re going back and we wish good luck to those who will remain, especially to Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

“What I have told their leaders is that they may be attacked at any time in Cabinda. I hope they will be cautious.”

On Saturday, the Togo government had also ordered the team to leave, but the team today confirmed they wanted to play in honour of those killed in the shooting attack on the team’s bus.

“The players understood that they had to play – to honour the dead,” Confederation of African Football spokesman Kodzo Samlan said after speaking to the players.

Midfielder Alaixys Romao, who plays for French League 1 club Grenoble, was quoted in L’Equipe as saying the squad and officials met on Saturday and elected to go ahead with the tournament, starting with their opening match against Ghana tomorrow.

“People died for this tournament, others were injured. We can’t abandon them and leave like cowards,” Romao reportedly said. “If we stay here, it’s for them. But also so as not to give satisfaction to the rebels.

“Our government doesn’t necessarily agree with us but we are determined to play in this competition. The decision was taken unanimously,” he said.

Samlan, who is also secretary-general of Togo’s soccer federation, said the team had voted to stay but were awaiting approval from the Togo government to remain.

“We still stand by our decision to demand the return of our national team from Angola. Nothing has reversed that decision,” Houngbo said.

With tournament officials declaring the tournament will start on schedule today, and with Togo’s Group B matches to be played in restive Cabinda, the tour party was met there on Saturday by most of the top officials of the CAF, who implored Togo to stay.

CAF president Issa Hayatou said he had received a guarantee from Angola Prime Minister Antonio Paulo Kassoma that security would be beefed up for all teams and at all venues.

The Togo team was ambushed on Friday in an attack blamed on militants fighting for the independence of Cabinda, a region of Angola cut off from the rest of the country by a strip of Congo.

The Angolan government built a new stadium in Cabinda for pool play in the African Cup.

The attack killed a Togo assistant coach, a team spokesman, and the Angolan bus driver, according to the team and Togo government. At least two players had gunshot wounds.