BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Should the Africa Cup of Nations go ahead? This debate is now closed. Should the Africa Cup of Nations go ahead? Angolan authorities have arrested two people after Togo's national football team came under attack in an ambush ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. What is your reaction? The Togo team has returned home after its bus was attacked and players were shot at on their way to a tournament venue in Cabinda, Angola on Friday. Three people on board the bus were killed. The Confederation of African Football says its competition will continue with tightened security. The Togo players have expressed a desire to stay and play. But the Togolese government insisted that they leave. Should the Cup of Nations have gone ahead? Is the Togo government right to call its players home? What impact will this incident have on the World Cup in South Africa later this year?

Togo return home from Cup of Nations as postponement is ruled out | Football | The Guardian Togo return home from Cup of Nations as postponement is ruled out • Togo players criticise CAF for failing to delay tournament's start • FA says it will try to ensure all Premier League players' safety Togo's reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale is evacuated to Johannesburg for treatment. He is thought to be in a stable condition. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters Saturday 9 January 2010 16.14 EST First published on Saturday 9 January 2010 16.14 EST Close This article is 7 years old Togo pulled out of the Africa Cup of Nations last night following the gun attack on the team bus on Friday in Angola, which killed at least three people. Their forward Thomas Dossevi voiced players' criticism of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) for refusing to postpone the tournament's start so that the squad could "bring our dead people home". Reports from the newswire AP claimed that Dossevi had said Togo would have been willing to participate if a delay had been agreed.

Following a meeting held by Emmanuel Adebayor , the Manchester City striker and Togo captain, with his team-mates the players declared early this afternoon that they could not continue. Yet there was confusion as a Togo team official insisted no final decision had been taken, despite Adebayor's comments and a Togo government spokesperson saying: "We can't continue in these dramatic circumstances in the African Nations Cup. It was necessary because our players are in shock.". Ivory Coast and Ghana, members of Togo's group along with Burkina Faso, indicated they would play on. Angolan organisers want them to remain in troubled Cabinda under armed guard. The organisers said tonight that they would not move group games from Cabinda but would understand if Togo pulled out. "In case you decide to leave the competition, we will definitely understand your decision and it will be accepted," said Caf's president, Issa Hayatou. The group which claimed responsibility for the ambush of the Togo team, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, said further attacks would follow. "This operation is just the start of a series of planned actions that will continue to take place in the whole territory of Cabinda," it said.

Dossevi's criticism of Caf came after Togo officials met with the governing body to discuss postponing the tournament. Caf said tonight that tomorrow's opening game, involving Angola and Mali, would go ahead. Dossevi said: "We are disappointed by the Caf position, which is that the show must go on whatever happened. Our wish is that the beginning of the competition will be delayed to let us bring our dead people home." Dossevi added that Togo's players had discussed the situation with other competing squads and claimed more may yet pull out. "I can guarantee you that if Caf doesn't want to delay the start of the competition, there will be other teams that won't play. We are footballers, we like to play football, but there are other things that are more important." There were further questions over the reserve goalkeeper, Kodjovi Obilale, who was injured in the shooting. Some reports stated he had become the fourth member of the Togo party to have died but a spokesman for the hospital in Johannesburg, to where Obilale was taken, said Obilale was "conscious and in a stable condition".

Togo's Jonathan Ayité told French radio station RMC: "Even if you bring the president and even [US president Barack] Obama himself, we're leaving immediately, we're going back home. Ghana and Ivory Coast are in solidarity with us." The defender Serge Akakpo was also shot and Moustapha Salifou, the Aston Villa midfielder, described the 30-minute ambush which was reportedly carried out by a militant separatist group."It was only 15 minutes after we crossed into Angola that the coach came under heavy fire from rebels. The driver of the coach was shot almost immediately and died instantly, so we were just stopped on the road with nowhere to go. "Our security people saved us. They were in two separate cars, about 10 of them in total and they returned fire. The shooting lasted for half an hour and I could hear the bullets whistling past me. It was like a movie. I know I am really lucky.

I was in the back of the coach with Emmanuel Adebayor and one of the goalkeepers." Despite the Togo players claims that other teams were considering pulling out, the general manager of Ivory Coast, insisted they would play on despite being "shocked through these hard times". The president of Ghana's Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, said their team also intended to continue. "We were really shaken to the core. Everyone was frightened and I must admit, we are gradually getting over it," he said. Essien, the Ghana and Chelsea midfielder who had not yet travelled to the country because of a hamstring problem, was still planning to fly out tomorrow. Nigeria said they had asked for additional security, including a military escort. The English FA released a statement saying they were in dialogue with Fifa and Caf and would attempt to ensure all Premier League players would be safe. It read: "Following the terrible events in Angola, the FA has been in continual contact with all of the English clubs who have Nations Cup players. "The FA has also been in regular contact with Fifa to obtain as much information and guidance as possible. This has involved conversations with Fifa's general secretary. We have also spoken to the deputy general secretary of Caf.

The FA will maintain frequent contact with both organisations. "All of English football would like to offer our sincere condolences to everyone connected with the Togo squad. "We will do all we can to ensure the welfare and safety of all Premier League players in Angola representing their countries." According to Manchester City, Adebayor had already boarded a plane, though there was confusion regarding his precise destination. A spokesperson said: "He is on his way back from Angola, but we are not sure exactly where his flight is headed. The lines of communication between the club and Emmanuel have been open all day; we have spoken to his advisers and his girlfriend and he is coming home. "He and his team-mates met this morning before deciding that they wished to pull out of the tournament. Their first game in the tournament had been scheduled to take place on Monday against Ghana, but they are now heading home to their families. "It has been made clear by manager Roberto Mancini and senior officials that Emmanuel will now be given as much time as he needs to recover from the horrific attack.

The striker, who has admitted his state of shock, said before leaving the tournament that he felt lucky to be alive." Danny Jordaan, head of the 2010 World Cup, has said there should be no concerns over safety in South Africa Published: 9 Jan 2010 Premier League players were shaken but unhurt after gunmen shot at Togo team buses at the Africa Cup of Nations Published: 8 Jan 2010 Up Station Mountain Club: AFCON Updates:Togo Players Now Want to Stay(?), Lions beat Kenya in Friendly (From Gef's Football Club ) The 27th Africa Cup of Nations starts this Sunday with the opening match between hosts Angola and Mali in a context clouded by last Friday’s gun-attack on the bus of the Togolese national football team in the Enclave of Cabinda. The Togolese authorities decided to recall their players from the tournamen t (ordering a return to Togo) following the death of two members of their delegation in the attack claimed by the military wing of the FLEC separatist movement.

However, an Agence France Presse (AFP) report late into Saturday night suggested that some of the players now want to play the competition in honour of the slain Abalo Amelete (assistant coach) and Stanislas Ocloo (team press officer), as well as their injured colleagues particularly goalkeeper Obilale who is currently in South Africa for intensive care. *”In memory of those we have lost, the national team has decided to participate in the CAN,” Thomas Dossevi said. “We are all sad as this is no longer a celebration [of football] but we want to show our colors, our values and that we are men,” the striker who was among the first to initially ask for a return to Togo in the immediate aftermath of the incident, said. The decision also seems to be a reaction against a perceived injustice and lack of understanding from African football’s governing body CAF. “This is a decision that was taken almost unanimously by the group that met at night and decided after being reassured by the Angolan authorities,” Dossevi said. “ “We are disappointed that the CAF could not re-arrange the schedule a time of our first game, even if it was only to allow us bury our corpses”.

“We’re a little bitter, we are disappointed by the conduct of CAF,” said Dossevi. “It sees its interests first and not those of the country…It has not supported us enough.” If the Togolese authorities confirm the decision as they did on Saturday when the players earlier expressed the wish to pull out, it would be strong signal and a face saver to the Angolan organisers who have banked on this tournament to show case the country’s re-emergence from 30 years of war. It will not be the first time that a country pulls out of the AFCON and then makes a U-turn on its decision. In 1990, Egypt pulled-out its Pharoahs from the continental jamboree amidst a row with the host nation Algeria, before changing its mind days later and re-sending the squad to the tournament. Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions who enter the competition on Wednesday continued preparations with a 3 -1 victory over Kenya on Saturday. Togo appeal is rejected Togo appeal is rejected Updated / Feb.

18, 2010 20:35 Togo's request for an urgent hearing into its appeal against a ban from the next two Nations Cup tournaments was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday. The Togolese federation had asked CAS to make a provisional ruling before Saturday's draw for the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers. But CAS said in a statement that, as the matches would not start until September, there would be time to include Togo if the eventual decision went in favour of the West African team. Togo was banned by the Confederation of African Football for withdrawing from last month's tournament in Angola after two members of their delegation and the team bus driver died in an ambush in the province of Cabinda. More on BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Should the Africa Cup of Nations go ahead? This debate is now closed. Should the Africa Cup of Nations go ahead? Angolan authorities have arrested two people after Togo's national football team came under attack in an ambush ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. What is your reaction? The Togo team has returned home after its bus was attacked and players were shot at on their way to a tournament venue in Cabinda, Angola on Friday.

Three people on board the bus were killed. The Confederation of African Football says its competition will continue with tightened security. The Togo players have expressed a desire to stay and play. But the Togolese government insisted that they leave. Should the Cup of Nations have gone ahead? Is the Togo government right to call its players home? What impact will this incident have on the World Cup in South Africa later this year? Two of Togo team's attackers arrested | News | Africa | M&G Two of Togo team's attackers arrested Julien Pretot 11 Jan 2010 14:40 Angola said on Monday it had arrested two people suspected of taking part in an attack on a bus carrying the Togo national soccer team to the African Nations Cup in which two delegation members were killed. Provincial prosecutor Antonio Nito said in a statement the two suspects belonged to the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec)—a heavily militarised oil-producing province geographically separated from northern Angola. The Flec, which has being fighting for independence from Angola for over 30 years, had claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, which took place shortly after the Togo team’s bus crossed from Congo Republic.

“The two elements of Flec were captured at the scene of the incident,” Nito said in a statement published on the state news agency Angop. Togo’s team returned home on Sunday together with the bodies of their assistant coach and media officer to begin three days of mourning, but the sports minister said they still hoped to be able to join the Cup, Africa’s biggest sports tournament. The bus driver was also killed and Togolese goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was stable in hospital in Johannesburg after being operated on for serious gunshot wounds, doctors said. Showcase The attack has acutely embarrassed the Angolan government, which had declared the Flec dead, and spent $1-billion preparing for a Nations Cup to showcase a gradual recovery from decades of civil war that only ended in 2002. Experts say the Flec is riven by factionalism and may have as few as 200 gunmen, largely confined to remote northern Cabinda. But its leadership, based in France, has vowed to carry out more attacks, and Angola has stepped up security.

Rodrigues Mingas, Flec’s secretary general, said the attack had been aimed not at the Togolese players but at the Angolan forces at the head of the convoy. “So it was pure chance that the gunfire hit the players,” he told France 24 television. “We don’t have anything to do with the Togolese and we present our condolences to the African families and the Togo government.” Togo’s players said the rebels had sprayed gunfire at them for 15 minutes or more, but the accounts have been confused. Togo’s French coach, Hubert Velud, told the paper L’Equipe: “We were shot at from both sides of the bus, from 10m.

We owe our lives to the nerves of our driver, who was able to keep driving for a few hundred metres before the army intervened.” But midfielder Moustapha Salifou told his club’s website: “The driver of the coach was shot almost immediately and died instantly, so we were just stopped on the road with nowhere to go.” Oil region Cabinda provides half the oil output of Angola, a rival to Nigeria as Africa’s biggest producer, and the US-based Human Rights Watch last year accused Angola of illegally imprisoning and torturing those suspected of fomenting separatism. “The apparent rebel attack against a convoy of international athletes is shocking,” Georgette Gagnon, HRW’s Africa director, said on Monday. “Angolan authorities are entitled to step up security in response to this attack. But this does not justify illegal arrests or crackdowns on the media, as it has done in Cabinda in the past.” Martinho Nombo, a lawyer and human rights activist in Cabinda, said he feared authorities were already treating the suspects as guilty. “The statement by the prosecutor says the two people arrested are the attackers of the Togo team, yet they have never gone on trial,” he said.

Cabinda: The facts History Portuguese colonialists ruled Cabinda from 1885 until 1975, when Portugal gave up its overseas colonies following a left-wing revolution. The independence treaty signed with Angola’s main independence movements—but not Cabinda’s Flec—incorporated Cabinda into Angola as a geographically separated exclave. Secessionist aspirations Cabinda’s secessionists fought a low-level guerrilla war to throw off Angolan rule from 1975 until they were largely crushed as Angola’s post-colonial civil war ended in 2002. Violence has continued sporadically, despite a ceasefire signed by Flec rebels in 2006 in return for pledges of a greater share of oil revenue. The deal was rejected by a faction of the Flec led by its president, N’Zita Tiago. Continuing violence Antonio Bento Bembe, a former Flec fighter who is now a minister without portfolio, said in December that Flec now consisted of only a few disaffected individuals. Bento Bembe himself signed the 2006 ceasefire agreement as Flec secretary general, but Tiago says he still leads a war against the government from exile in Paris.

In November, Flec said it had kidnapped a Chinese oil worker. It had also earlier said it had killed several members of Angola’s armed forces—claims that Bento Bembe denied. The US-based Human Rights Watch last June accused the Angolan government of extensive unlawful detention and torture of people suspected of rebel activities in Cabinda. Oil The waters off Cabinda have earned it the epithet “the Kuwait of Africa”. They provide more than half of the two million barrels per day of oil produced by Angola, which rivals Nigeria as Africa’s leading producer. Oil accounts for about 90% of Angola’s income from exports. Since 2006, the central government has been reinvesting 10% of Cabinda’s oil taxes in the province. Chevron, one of Angola’s top oil producers, pumps oil from the Cabinda region. Geography The kingdoms that make up modern-day Cabinda adjoined Angola until 1885, when the country that is now the Democratic Republic of Congo was given sovereignty over a 60km wide strip of land surrounding the mouth of the River Congo.

Cabinda covers 7 823 square kilometres and has a population of about 300 000 out of Angola’s roughly 16,5-million. It borders the Democratic Republic of Congo to the south and east and Congo Republic to the north. The provincial capital, also named Cabinda, is the main port on its Atlantic coastline. Most Cabindans speak French rather than Portuguese, the dominant language of Angola, as well as the indigenous language Cabindes. - Reuters Soccer Capsules: Chicago Fire name new coach Cobos - Brownsville Herald: Sports Soccer Capsules: Chicago Fire name new coach Cobos - Brownsville Herald: Sports This week, a jury consisting of residents from Nueces County will decide whether Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr. is guilty. Posted: January 21 MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Venus Williams has returned to the quarterfinals for the ninth time at the Australian Open, where she reached the same round on debut in 1998.

Updated: 12:30 am Soccer Capsules: Chicago Fire name new coach Cobos Associated Press | BRIDGEVIEW, Illinois — The Chicago Fire picked former Salvadoran national coach Carlos de los Cobos as the fifth head coach in the Major League Soccer team's 12-year history on Monday. The 51-year-old coach succeeds Dennis Hamlett, who coached the Fire in 2008 and 2009 and was released late last year. He said he signed a two-year deal with an option for an unspecified extension. "I have to learn things quickly, not only the players but how things operate in this league and the differences and nuances between this league and (others) like the Mexican First Division," de los Cobos said through a translator. "But it also makes me excited and it makes me work harder in terms of approaching this challenge." De los Cobos, a Mexico native, revived the El Salvador's national team as head coach from 2006-09. He previously was head coach of Club America in the Mexican Primera Division and managed a series of Mexican national teams from 1993-2004, including the 1996 Olympic team.

He was an assistant coach for a national team that won the CONCACAF 1996 Gold Cup. De los Cobos' 17-year-playing career including 10 seasons with Club America and stints with two other Mexican teams. "My idea, philosophy is to play an attractive style of soccer," de los Cobos said. "I know that the most important thing is to win, but there are different ways of winning. My goal and objective is to play a style that's enjoyed by the fans, in which there's a lot of ball movement, good touch on the ball." The first task for de los Cobos is to travel to this week's MLS player combine in Florida and participate in the MLS draft later this week. Fox to launch 2nd soccer network NEW YORK — Fox will announce Tuesday that it is launching its second all-football channel in the United States on March 1. The new network, called Fox Soccer Plus, will televise matches of the European Champions League, England's Premier League, the English Football Association Cup and the Italian Serie A. Fox Soccer Channel began operation in 1997 and changed its name to FSC five years ago.

"As America's interest in the world's game is increasing, the launch of Fox Soccer Plus will complement and enhance our current programming on Fox Soccer Channel," new FSC general manager David Nathanson said. The new network will draw content from Setanta USA, whose sublicenses with Fox are expiring, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail won't be included in the announcement. Fox, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is negotiating with cable carriers to determine whether they want to place it on a select tier or offer it as a monthly subscription service for a fee. The new network will be broadcast in high definition; Fox also has been preparing to start high definition telecasts of FSC. Fox has been televising the Premier League in the U.S. since 1998 and sublicenses some of the games to Setanta USA and ESPN2, which is televising 48 matches this season. Also Monday, FSC said it was hiring Andy Gray of News Corp.'s Sky Sports in Britain for its studio show during this year's World Cup. Gray, a former Scotland international, worked for ESPN's U.S. coverage of the 2008 European Championship.

Richard Keys of Sky Sports also will be a part of FSC's World Cup coverage. -- Ronald Blum Bus Attack Two separatists held in attack on Togo soccer team CABINDA, Angola — Authorities have arrested two separatists in Angola's restive Cabinda region following a shooting attack on the Togolese national soccer team that killed three people, a prosecutor announced. According to Monday's brief statement from Antonio Nito, the prosecutor in charge of Cabinda province, two unidentified members of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda forces, or FLEC, were captured Sunday near the site of Friday's shooting. A FLEC leader reportedly in exile in France claimed responsibility Monday, but said his group had been targeting Angolan troops escorting the Togolese team. "In war, anything can happen, this is only the beginning," Rodrigues Mingas, who calls himself the group's leader, told France-Info radio. Another FLEC faction had denied responsibility, reflecting divisions in the separatist movement that both weaken it and complicate the task of finding a solution in the region, where unrest has simmered for a generation.

An organization that reunites former FLEC members who started a peace process with the Angolan government in 2006 said that the attack had likely been carried out by dissident FLEC members. "This attack has been committed by armed gangsters who just want to sabotage the peace process," said Andre Puango, coordinator of the Cabinda forum for dialogue. Togo was to have played its opening game against Ghana on Monday in the African Cup of Nations tournament. But Togo's players reluctantly left Angola late Sunday. They had said they wanted to compete to honor the dead, but their government dispatched the presidential plane after saying it was not safe to stay. The Togolese team was driving to Angola to take part in the tournament when gunmen opened fire on the bus Friday. Togo's assistant coach and team spokesman were killed, as was the Angolan bus driver. Eight people were wounded, including a goalkeeper who was flown to South Africa for treatment. Doctors said Monday it was too soon to say whether Kodjovi "Dodji" Obilale will recover enough to play again, but they are optimistic. He was listed in good condition Monday, an improvement from serious a day earlier.

Meanwhile, three days of mourning were declared in Togo, where sobbing relatives met a plane late Sunday carrying the victims of the attack. Weeping women threw themselves to the ground and had to be helped up. "Our boys went to Angola to celebrate the best in African football (soccer) but they came back with dead bodies and bullet wounds," said Togbe Aklassou, a traditional ruler from the Be area of Lome. Togo's players had wanted to compete to honor the dead, but their government dispatched the presidential plane after saying it was not safe for them to stay. "Despite the terrorist attack, Cabinda will remain a hosting city," Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said in a speech at the opening ceremony before the Mali-Angola match. "There is no need to be afraid." Mingas, who calls himself FLEC's leader, said Monday his group was behind the attack. But it was unclear what authority he wielded from exile. A leader of a competing FLEC faction, Nzita Tiago, also claimed responsibility, speaking to the AP by phone from Paris.

However, Portugal's national news agency quoted the secretary-general of Tiago's faction, Joel Batila, as saying it had nothing to do with the attack and blamed it on dissidents. Tiago said: "Batila may not be fully informed." Another FLEC faction leader, Tiburcio Tati Tchingobo, has denied responsibility, telling the AP the attacks resulted from frustration and perhaps lack of discipline among separatist forces. Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at London's Chatham House think tank, said Cabinda's factions have been breaking into smaller and smaller cells in recent years. None has more than a few hundred fighters and their tactics are "hit-and-run, opportunistic attacks." "It's very difficult to see what's going on," he said. "How (these groups) fit together is not clear at this time." As weak as Cabinda's armed groups are, periodic announcements from the Angolan government that the uprising has been quelled — either by force or negotiations — have been followed by new outbreaks of violence. In 2006, one FLEC faction signed a peace deal with Angola's government. That faction's leader, Bento Bembe, is now a Cabinet minister charged with overseeing human rights issues.

The Angolan government has denied charges from international human rights groups that its military has committed atrocities in Cabinda. Angola has been struggling to climb back from decades of violence, and its government was banking on the tournament as a chance to show the world it was on the way to recovery. Cabinda's unrest is unrelated to — and often overshadowed by — a broader civil war that lasted nearly three decades and ended in 2002. -- Samuel Petrequin Togo goalkeeper improving in South Africa JOHANNESBURG — South African doctors are planning to leave bullet fragments in the stomach of Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi "Dodji" Obilale because it could cause more damage if they try to remove them. The 25-year-old Obilale was shot in the lower back Friday when gunmen attacked the bus carrying Togo's national team to Angola for the African Cup of Nations. The bullet fragmented, and some pieces have become lodged in his stomach. Removing them "sometimes causes more damage than leaving them behind," said trauma specialist Ken Boffard, who is part of Obilale's medical team at Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg. Three people were killed and eight injured in the attack.

The Togolese team was arriving in Angola for the African Cup when they were ambushed in an attack blamed on militants fighting for the independence of Cabinda. The region is cut off from the rest of Angola by a strip of Congo. Obilale was operated on after being flown from Cabinda to Johannesburg on Saturday, and he has been under sedation since, with a ventilator to help him breathe. Boffard said no more operations are planned. "I am happy to report that his condition has stabilized. He is in good condition at the moment," Boffard said Monday at a news conference. "We expect him to stay on the ventilator for the next couple of days and we don't expect his condition to change very much with the next couple of days. Overall, we are happy with his progress." Boffard said it was too soon to say whether Obilale, who plays for French minor league club Pontivy, would recover enough to play again, but that doctors were optimistic. He said Obilale was able to move his legs when he was admitted Saturday. "He is built like a goalkeeper," Boffard said. "That is very much in his favor.

So his condition was reasonable when he got down here." Efraim Kramer, a FIFA medical officer who has been monitoring Obilale's case, said Obilale's future in football "will have to do with what's in his head or what's in his heart." Kramer said he was giving FIFA president Sepp Blatter and other officials updates on Obilale every few hours. "An incident like this is a tragic incident and they see it in that light," Kramer said at the hospital briefing. "And they are obviously concerned about the people that succumbed and their families as well as the patient lying here in intensive care and their families." -- Donna Bryson Togo flags at half-mast as 3-day mourning starts LOME, Togo — Flags flew at half-mast in Togo as the West African nation began three days of national mourning on Monday following the return of the national football team after a gun attack which killed two members of its delegation in Angola. The players arrived in Togo's airport late Sunday night, some wearing bandages on their arms to cover bullet wounds.

Togo's press officer and an assistant coach were killed on Friday, along with their Angolan driver, after suspected rebels in Angola's volatile Cabinda region raked their bus with machine gunfire as they headed to the African Cup of Nations. Togo withdrew from the tournament in the wake of the attack. Speaking late Sunday, Prime Minister Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo said the tragedy was "a big loss for Togo, a sad day for Togolese football." The players, looking downcast, were met by supporters and family members at Lome airport and whisked away to a hotel. When the bodies of assistant coach Amelete Abalo and press officer Stan Ocloo Togo were removed from the presidential plane sent to collect them, family members broke down in tears and some threw themselves to the ground. Houngbo said in a statement broadcast over state radio Monday that the deaths marked a great loss for Togo. "They will be fittingly buried and deservingly honored," he said. Togo's players reluctantly left Angola. They had said they wanted to compete to honor the dead, but the government dispatched the plane after saying it was not safe to stay.

Bus attack highlights security concerns in SAfrica LONDON — The gun attack on Togo's national soccer team in Angola has again highlighted the security issues facing South Africa as it prepares to host the World Cup in five months. The local organizers and former World Cup-winning coaches Franz Beckenbauer and Marcello Lippi remain confident that South Africa will put on a peaceful tournament. "Of course, the shock at the terrible events sits deep," said Beckenbauer, three days after three people were killed and two Togo players were wounded in the attack on the team. "But it would be a mistake if we Europeans lumped together South Africa and Angola." The Togolese team was traveling by bus to Angola for the African Cup of Nations when it was attacked Friday in the host country's volatile Cabinda region. An assistant coach, a team spokesman and the Angolan bus driver were killed. Authorities have arrested two unidentified members of the separatist Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda. The Togo team flew home Sunday night.

"Perhaps the African Cup came a bit too early for Angola," Beckenbauer, who coached West Germany to the World Cup title in 1990 and won as a player in 1974, told the German daily Bild. "By contrast, South Africa is the continent's economic nation." Angola has only recently overcome decades of violence, and the country's government was hoping the biennial continental championship would give it a chance to show the world it was on the way to recovery — much like South Africa is trying to prove itself after decades of apartheid kept that country racially segregated. Despite Friday's attack, the three-week, 16-team African Cup opened Sunday in Luanda with Mali rallying for a 4-4 draw against Angola after being down 4-0. South African President Jacob Zuma attended the match. "He (Zuma) emphasized that the shocking and unacceptable attack on the Togolese team should not be blown out of proportion, but should serve as impetus for the African continent and the world at large to work even harder to rid the world of terrorist activity and violence wherever it surfaces," presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said in a statement.

The first World Cup to be played on African soil will open June 11 with host South Africa facing Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg. The final is scheduled for July 11 at the same stadium. Security, along with transportation, is one of the biggest issues facing South Africa before the World Cup. An estimated 450,000 fans will visit the country for the 32-team, monthlong tournament at 10 venues in nine cities across the country. South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world with at least 50 people being killed a day, and the country plans to beef up police numbers and training by investing in high-tech equipment and crime-busting surveillance to combat crime as well as any threats from hooligans and terrorists. World Cup organizing committee chief executive Danny Jordaan said linking the attack in Angola to South Africa is applying a double standard. "When there are terrorist attacks in Europe, do we hear about the 2012 Olympics (in London) being under threat? No," Jordaan said. "Angola and South Africa are two separate geographical areas, two separate countries.

"I don't think the world has ever asked one country to take responsibility for what happens in another country," Jordaan said. South Africa and Angola do not share a border. Namibia sits north of South Africa on the Atlantic coast, and Angola is north of that. The Cabinda region is even farther up the African coast, separated from the main part of Angola by Congo. "People in the world are thinking of Africa as one country," organizing committee chairman Irvin Khoza said Monday. "We've got our own security plans but it can only be a lesson also that in terms of our security plans, that is a lesson that we can learn." Lippi, who led Italy to its fourth World Cup title four years ago in Germany, has experience working in South Africa because he coached his team at last year's Confederations Cup. "South Africa is one of the most developed countries on the African continent and I don't think we'll have anything to fear," Lippi said. -- Chris Lehourites Commentary: African Cup of Nations must continue PARIS — In sending the cream of Africa's soccer talent to Angola, African soccer administrators were at best optimistic, at worst irresponsibly foolhardy.

But now that the players are there, they should stay — if it can be made safe for them to do so. The Cup of Nations was supposed to herald a banner year for African soccer, culminating with South Africa staging the World Cup. Abandoning the continent's showpiece tournament would hand a dangerous victory to the cowardly killers who opened fire on Togo's team. The three deaths, perhaps with better security, could have been avoided. The dangers were evident. Both the U.S. and British governments, among others, had cautioned that Angola's northern and oil-rich Cabinda province can be unsafe. Armed groups there who attacked expatriates in 2008 and 2009, raping, robbing and murdering, had vowed to do so again, the U.S. State Department warned as recently as November. As happens too often, sports people have again been held hostage by politics. Angola's government wanted the resource-rich country full of poor people to present a new face to the world. The tournament was meant to showcase the recovery from the civil war that raged for 27 years, killing at least 500,000 people and driving 4 million others from their homes.

But in Cabinda, whose oil helped finance the civil war, not everyone laid down guns. In turning their weapons against the Togolese team, the rebels there have brutally forced the world to take notice. Speaking from the safety of exile in Europe, one of their leaders told anyone who would listen that while they hadn't meant to shoot the Togolese players, and were instead targeting their Angolan escorts, "all blows are permitted during war." Rodrigues Mingas said his group had sent registered mail months ago to Issa Hayatou, African soccer's most senior administrator, warning him of the risks of staging some African Cup events in Cabinda. "He didn't want to take us seriously," Mingas charged, speaking on French radio. If there is even an ounce of truth to that claim, then Hayatou, his Confederation of African Football, which opted to host the competition in Angola, and the Angolan government have much explaining to do. Refusing to bow to terrorists and their threats is commendable. Not being fully prepared for such dangers is not. The Togolese bus was escorted by Angolan soldiers who were armed to the teeth, the team's French manager and players told French media.

That begs the question of whether the Angolan military feared that an attack was possible and, if so, whether other transport and competition arrangements should have been made. War zones are hardly the best place for staging top-class international sports. "The soldiers were hooded and heavily armed. Some were even clutching grenades. Initially, we didn't really understand why so much force was being deployed for a simple football team," Togo midfielder Alaixys Romao told French sports daily L'Equipe. "That was when one of my teammates told us that this place was reputed to be very dangerous." Abandoning the tournament, which opened Sunday with a minute's silence before Angola and Mali played to a 4-4 draw, would not bring the dead back. But it would be a coup for the rebels and for all those around the world with grievances and a thirst to express them through violence. It would tag sports events as soft and potentially resonant targets, and that could put others at risk in future. The temptation to draw parallels between Angola and South Africa, which will host the World Cup this June and July, should also be resisted. The Angolan attack does not make a South Africa World Cup unsafe. They are different countries with different security problems.

No one would have suggested that the London terror bombings that killed 52 people in 2005 made Germany a risky host for the World Cup the following year. The same should now be true for South Africa. South Africa's sports minister must be given the benefit of doubt when he says that the World Cup "will be completely secure," although visitors should also be conscious that that is a very big promise to make in these dangerous times and that South Africa's crime problems are well documented. The Angolans have pledged redoubled security in the wake of Friday's attack. They must be good to their word. Should a player so much as break a fingernail from now on, the world will be watching. The Togolese have gone home to bury their dead. Should they decide at the end of their three days of national mourning that they want to return to the cup, then everything must be done to accommodate them, even if that means rearranging the competition schedule and games.

It is to their honor that the Togolese players were reluctant to go home — "Those who are dead, those who fell, will they be happy that we return?" asked their captain, Emmanuel Adebayor — and that the other teams have decided to stay in Angola despite their own safety concerns. Against such courage, terror can't win. John Leicester covers international soccer for The Associated Press. Malawi beats Algeria 3-0 at African Cup LUANDA, Angola — Malawi gained its first ever victory at the African Cup of Nations with a 3-0 win over World Cup qualifier Algeria in Group A on Monday, while tournament favorite Ivory Coast could only manage a scoreless draw against west African neighbor Burkina Faso in Group B. Following Togo's withdrawal from the tournament, Ivory Coast will have to beat Ghana on Friday in Cabinda in its last group match to be guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals. "The game against Ghana will be a crucial one," Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure said. "But I'm confident we will work hard. Ghana is one of the best team in Africa.

We'll need to show character, we have the spirit, the team." Ghana was scheduled to play its first game later Monday against Togo, which withdrew after two members of its delegation died in an gun attack on the team bus on Friday. In Luanda, Russell Mwafulirwa grabbed the opener for Malawi at a largely deserted city stadium after 17 minutes, blasting a left-footed shot into an empty net after a goalkeeping blunder by Fawzi Chaouchi. Bryson Kafoteka doubled the lead with a header in the 36th before Davi Banda netted Malawi's third with a low shot in the 49th. Algeria, champion in 1990, struggled to create meaningful chances against a side whose only previous appearance at the African Cup finals was in 1984. The result means that Malawi leads Group A with three points, two ahead of Angola and Mali, who drew 4-4 in the tournament's opening match on Sunday. "We know we are being treated as the underdogs," Malawi's South African-based midfielder, Josephy Kamwendo, said.

"We know we are playing against big teams but, like them, we are here to win." Despite Monday's loss, Algeria coach Rabah Saadane said it was too early to give up. "We still have a chance to progress but we need to play well against Mali," he said. "We have ... to talk about today's game and work on our tactics." In the northern enclave of Cabinda, Ivory Coast, boasting major stars including Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Emmanuel Eboue, failed to take a number of chances against a side it twice beat during qualifying. Marseille striker Bakary Kone missed several clear chances, the best one in the 68th minute when he missed the target from close range following a back pass from Gervinho. Drogba was also denied a penalty in the second minute after appearing to be brought down in the box. Burkina Faso's Moumouni Dagano had a chance to score in the 67th but goalkeeper Boubacar Barry stretched to his left to block the shot. Ivory Coast, which won its only African Cup in 1992, and Burkina Faso have one point each in Group B.

Ivory Coast coach Vahid Halilhodzic was disappointed by the result but pleased by his players' attitude. "They kept fighting until the end," he said. "This time we lacked a bit of luck. But this is not over yet." -- Bruce Mustvairo Togo disqualified from African Cup CABINDA, Angola — The African soccer confederation says Togo has been "disqualified" from the African Cup of Nations. The team withdrew after two people from its delegation died in an ambush shooting last week. Togo was to have played its opening game against Ghana on Monday in Group B. Before the team returned home Sunday, Togo's government had asked organizers to postpone the competition to give players a chance to mourn. Confederation coordinator Yaouba Amoa tells The Associated Press that "the team is disqualified" and Togo's group will now consist of three nations. Ivory Coast plays Burkina Faso on Monday in Group B. Ghana plays Friday against Ivory Coast.

League Previews Tevez scores 3 as Man City beats Blackburn 4-1 LONDON — Carlos Tevez scored a hat trick as Manchester City outplayed Blackburn 4-1 on Monday to rise to fourth in the Premier League and extend new manager Roberto Mancini's record to four wins in a row. Tevez has now scored 10 goals in his last seven games. City defender Micah Richards also scored after an 80-meter run, while Benjani Mwaruwari played a part in the first three goals. Man City's 10th league victory of the season means Mancini's team has 38 points from 20 games to move above Tottenham into fourth, seven points behind leader Chelsea. Morten Gamst Pedersen's goal for Blackburn was the first that the former Inter Milan coach has conceded since he replaced the fired Mark Hughes as City manager last month — yet Mancini said he was angry. "It was a good night for us," the Italian said. "Carlos Tevez played very well but all the team concentrated for 90 minutes. But I am angry because we conceded a goal, our gift.

It's most important that the players concentrate all the time." Unable to make his debut because of a calf muscle injury, new signing Patrick Vieira walked on to the pitch at City of Manchester Stadium to be cheered by the home fans before kickoff. The French midfielder was signed from Inter on Friday. The players and fans held a minute's silence as a mark of respect to the three people who died when gunmen opened fire on the Togo team bus in Angola on Friday before the start of the African Cup of Nations. Togo, which is captained by Man City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, pulled out of the competition. Man City raced into the lead in the seventh minute when Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson, possibly impeded by a teammate, dropped Martin Petrov's corner. Benjani fed the ball to Tevez, who turned it home from close range with his right thigh. It was 2-0 just before halftime when Richards beat several Blackburn players when charging up-field and, after Benjani's shot had hit the post, he was ideally positioned to knock in the rebound. Tevez started and finished the move that brought the third goal in the 49th minute.

The Argentina forward passed to Benjani down the right and arrived to collect the Zimbabwe striker's cross to drive the ball past Robinson from the edge of the area. Tevez should have collected his hat trick in the 58th but headed tamely wide from close range from a cross by Pablo Zabaleta. Mancini sent on Robinho for Craig Bellamy midway through the second half. But it was Blackburn who scored next in the 71st when Pedersen ran through to curl a shot past goalkeeper Shay Given. Tevez' third came when he took a short pass from Robinho to slide a low shot past Robinson from the edge of the area. -- Robert Millward Barcelona faces must-win cup match at Sevilla MADRID — Pep Guardiola's Barcelona faces its first must-win game of 2010 on Wednesday when the defending champion plays Sevilla in a Copa del Rey second leg match. Barcelona goes to the fifth round game at Sanchez Pizjuan stadium trailing 2-1 and at risk of missing out on a trophy for the first time since the 38-year-old coach took over in 2008. It collected an unprecedented six trophies between national and international competitions in 2009.

Barcelona couldn't have asked for a better lift going into the match than Sunday's 5-0 league drubbing of Tenerife, with world player of the year Lionel Messi notching a hat-trick. "When a team wins everything, every team wants to beat it. It's an achievement to try and beat us," midfielder Andres Iniesta said on Monday. "To win in Sevilla would be phenomenal, it would be a big step forward. But we're not playing to satisfy anyone's doubts." Sevilla, which last won the domestic cup competition in 2007, has lost two straight games at home and, despite last week's win at the Camp Nou, has been lacking in confidence. And bodies. Striker Luis Fabiano and defenders Federico Fazio and Sebastien Squillaci are all injured, while striker Frederic Kanoute and midfielder Didier Zakora are away on African Cup of Nations duty. Winger Diego Perotti is also a doubt, while only winger Jesus Navas and Fernando Navarro's possible returns provide hope. Sevilla is expected to sacrifice some of its usual flair to focus on defense against the European champion, which could field Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was rested on Sunday alongside defender Gerard Pique.

"You have to suffer; we're going to suffer because Barcelona normally holds so much possession," forward Renato said. "The most important thing is to score goals when we get the chance." Barcelona is not the only topflight team in trouble after the first leg matches. Atletico Madrid has to overcome a 3-0 deficit with Recreativo Huelva on Thursday, when Rayo Vallecano goes to Mallorca holding a 2-1 advantage. Mallorca has won all eight league matches at the Ono stadium this season. Second division leader Hercules holds a 2-1 lead over struggling Osasuna ahead of Wednesday's game at the Reyno de Navarro stadium. Deportivo La Coruna would be a favorite as it sits fourth in the Spanish league and holds a 2-1 advantage over 2008 champion Valencia going into Wednesday's game at El Riazor. Third-division side Alcorcon looks to continue its improbable run at Racing Santander, where it must overturn a 3-2 deficit. The Madrid club knocked out Real Madrid with a 4-1 aggregate win in the last round. In Wednesday's other games, Malaga leads Getafe 2-1.

Villarreal hosts Celta Vigo in Tuesday's only game after a 1-1 draw. -- Paul Logothetis Let Togo Play Let Togo Play EMAIL The first match of the biannual African Cup of Nations kicked off yesterday, but as widely reported , one of the more promising teams, Togo, won’t be taking the field. Last Friday, an attack on the Togolese team bus in the host nation of Angola killed an assistant coach, press official, and bus driver. Team captain and Manchester City’s prized striker Emmanuel Adebayor said of the incident, “This Friday at 1430, we were all dead on that bus. 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)?’” However, the Togolese government intervened and after much debate, the team returned home. Undoubtedly, it would’ve been inspiring to see Togo take the field despite the tragedy. With Adebayor alone, they have enough talent to have notched a memorable win or two that would’ve certainly paid fitting tribute to the dead.

Though they understandably went home to mourn, they may still return —as they should. The healing powers of sport are considerable. The example that immediately comes to mind is Favre taking the field a day after the death of his pops , the man who taught him all there was to now about the other football. No. 4 has had many a great game but that mythical first half alone against the Raiders might be his best, most inspired performance yet, providing ample proof that playing a game that just might be meant to be played can be most cathartic when in mourning. But the story has taken another twist with the Confederation of African Football ruling hours ago that if Togo didn’t walk out onto the pitch for their match against Ghana by 1:30 PM EST, they’ll be disqualified. Political bullshit has managed to taint the tournament even further, with the CAF butthurt over the fact that Togo’s responses to the incident have played out in the media instead of behind closed doors—as if the world wasn’t watching. With Togo highly unlikely to make the match, hopefully someone can step in (I’m looking at you, FIFA) and the Togolese footballers can hop back on a plane for Angola.

Beyond the crest of their country on their shirts, those empty seats at takeoff will be enough motivation to finish what they more or less started. Share This By: Sir Run Run Paw 01.11.2010 @ 4:14 PM Togo players are coming back, Emmanuel Adebayor was quick to announce this. This was a totally messed up situation. Here’s hoping for a safe and totally awesome World Cup 2010 this summer in South Africa. By: Deen 01.11.2010 @ 4:19 PM Messed up scenario all around. I hope they get to play the remaining games if they want to, despite the sporting fairness issues involved with that stance… By: vallejo 01.11.2010 @ 4:24 PM I’ve no idea where you got that Adebayor quote from – everything I’ve read on this had the players sounding desperate to get out of Angola and back to their families. You can’t really blame them – seeing your team mates and staff getting shot up if front of you, everything seems trivial after that.

Pretty happy I didn’t go through with buying flights out to SA now… By: Sir Run Run Paw 01.11.2010 @ 4:37 PM @vallejo, that’s what I meant, they getting out of there. By: Devin C. 01.11.2010 @ 4:51 PM @vallejo The Ade quote is from the BBC story (the first embedded link) but BBC have since updated the story to reflect Togo’s DQ. I’ve found it again here: By: Live from a Walmart Parking Lot 01.11.2010 @ 6:00 PM Had Togo played, they definitely would’ve beaten Burkina Faso and perhaps even Ghana, who’s missing just about every single one of their good players. By: Deen With all due respect, please go fuck yourself. South Africa and Angola are the same entity. By: Contra 01.12.2010 @ 6:42 AM First, @Vallego, the Togolese TEAM wants to play. The government is opposed.

They asked for 3 days of mourning I believe and there was some commotion or something about that. Add that to the back and forth between CAF, FIFA and the govt and voila. The quote is accurate. Secondly @Deen. I think you mean “are not the same entity”. And in that case, we agree. Yeah, fuck anyone who thinks Africa is one big country. The part of Angola where the shooting happened vs. the rest of Angola are about as different as PR is to the USA. I wouldn’t refuse to go to New York because someone got shot in North Dakota. That’s slightly absurd. Worse still if someone got popped in Mexico, would I skip on my trip to Texas? lol.. Take a deep breath before throwing out statements. That aside, if you are willing to miss on travelling to the biggest soccer football tournament of the next 4-5 years because someone got shot in another country altogether, please tell me where you live because I’d like to live in a place where no one dies too. I think we all would. *exhale* R.I.P to the Togolese teammates and staff that got popped. Sad shit. The tournament’s been pretty interesting so far.

Very…ehm…unexpected. That 4-4 opening match really set the tone for a lot of upsets. By: vallejo 01.12.2010 @ 10:39 AM In all fairness, my comment was based on statements made by players at the time of the incident. I’ve now followed up on the link and read more on it! I still think it was the right call to pull out of the tournament though. Also, the SA comment was ill advised – i thought they were neighbouring countries. What can i say, i’m shit at geography! i visited Johannesburg last year for a wedding, it’s a fantastic place. Still not convinced that security will be all that tight out there but that’s my gut feeling. @Contra – i’m from a sleepy village in England. It’s full of old people, i wouldn’t recommend it… “R.I.P to the Togolese teammates and staff that got popped. Sad shit.” ^agreed By: Adam 01.12.2010 @ 11:38 AM Although it would be nice to see them play I can understand the reason why they can’t.

First of all…if you’d had your team coach shot at and some good friends killed would you be in the right frame of mind to play a sport for your country only days later? Its good theyve not cancelled the whole tournament because of this though and hopefully the football being played will do enough to maybe, just maybe mean that the African Nations Cup will not forever be remembered for this event.

Question: Which football team returned home from the 2010 African Nations Cup in Angola after their bus was shot at and three people were killed?
Answer: Togo