UPDATE: Should the African Nations Cup be called off?

January 9, 2010

UPDATE: The death toll has risen to three. The bus driver died on Friday and an assistant coach and press officer died on Saturday. Togo are now considering pulling out.

——————————–

African Nations Cup organisers are adamant that the tournament will go ahead in Angola despite Friday’s ambush of the Togo team bus.

The bus had just entered the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, where separatists have waged a three-decade long war, when it came under heavy gunfire. Players said that the attack lasted for around 20 to 30 minutes.

Local organisers (COCAN) criticised the Togolese for the incident.

“The rules are clear: no team should travel by bus. I don’t know what led them to do this. The incident would not have happened in the city,” said Virgilio Santos, an official with COCAN.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) put out a verbose statement which seemed to promise lots of meetings and assessments.

“Immediately after the news, CAF held an emergency meeting on that issue,” said CAF.

“According to information sent to CAF again late in the afternoon, another meeting was held. The Angolan Football Association president who is also the director general of the Local Organising Committee, Mr. Justino Fernandes, informed the CAF Executive Committee that the incident happened 10 kilometers within the Angolan territory.

“The Angolan authority deployed immediately a team down there to assess the exact situation. According to the information provided by the director general, all injured people were taken to a hospital in Cabinda.

“On Saturday morning, 9 January 2010, an important delegation be headed by the Angolan Minister on Internal Affairs, Ministers of Youth and Sports, members from the Prime Ministers office as well as a powerful delegation from CAF will be in Cabinda. The Angolan Prime Minister will meet on Saturday CAF President, Mr Issa Hayatou, to take decisions to guarantee the smooth running of the competition.”

A similar incident happened last year when the Sri Lankan cricket team was ambushed by gunmen in Lahore, Pakistan. Six policemen were killed and eight people –six cricketers and two Sri Lankan officials — were injured.

International sporting events in Pakistan were immediately cancelled. The International Cricket Council (ICC) moved last year’s Champions Trophy out of Pakistan and said it would do the same for matches at the 2011 World Cup.

Should the football authorities follow that example?

PHOTO: Manchester City and Togo soccer player Emmanuel Adebayor leaves his hotel in Manchester, northern England, September 15, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

Source

Tags: 9 january, african nations cup, Angola, assistant coach, association president, CAF, cocan, confederation of african football, emmanuel adebayor, exact situation, football association, heavy gunfire, internal affairs, justino, late in the afternoon, local organising committee, Manchester, manchester city, Mr. Justino Fernandes, Nigel Roddis, Pakistan, prime ministers office, separatists, team bus, Togo, togolese, virgilio, Virgilio Santos

Adebayor urges City to sign Toure

July 26, 2009

Manchester City’s latest signing Emmanuel Adebayor has told th club to sign his former Arsenal team-mate Kolo Toure.

The Togolese international, who recently signed for the Eastlands club from the Emirates to join the ambitious project in Manchester, wants the 25-year-old defender to follow his steps to City, as City look to overtake Arsenal in the top four of Premier League.

While, City boss Mark Hughes hasn’t given up the pursuit of Chelsea centre-back John Terry, Adebayor believes Toure would be a successful signing along with Terry.

He said: “Kolo is a great friend of mine. He is a big player for Arsenal and a top defender.

“He has been playing in the Premier League for seven or eight years now so he knows this league really well.

“If the manager could get him, he can get exactly what this club wants and needs from him. I’m sure about that.

“I know how good Kolo is and I think what Man City needs now is a top quality defender like him or John Terry.”

By: Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: abhimanyu, ambitious project, CHELSEA, CITY, city boss, emirates, emmanuel adebayor, hasn, john terry, kolo toure, man city, Manchester, manchester city, Mark Hughes, premier league, quality defender, rajput, team mate, th club, togolese, top quality

Tevez signs for City – who also track Adebayor

July 14, 2009

MANCHESTER (AFP) – Manchester City on Monday said they had signed Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, who left Manchester United at the end of the season, amid reports they also want Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor.

Tevez, 25, has agreed terms with City and is set to sign a five-year deal, his new club said following weeks of rumours regarding his future.

No fee was mentioned but City were expected to have to shell out in the region of 25 million pounds (35 million euros) for the player they have coveted all summer.

“It is terrific news,” said City manager Mark Hughes.

“Carlos is an international player of the highest class who possesses all the attributes that will help drive this club forward,” Hughes told the club’s official website.

“He is not only outstanding technically but he is a reliable goal scorer and someone who will contribute fully to the team ethic. He gives us another exciting, attacking dimension.”

Last week City said they were giving up on plans to sign Barcelona star Samuel Eto?o, but having secured Tevez’s services they are now also hoping to net Togolese forward Adebayor, even though he signed a new Arsenal contract at the Emirates Stadium, media reports indicated late Tuesday.

City said in a statement on Tevez: “Personal terms with the 25-year-old have been concluded and the deal has been ratified by the Premier League and the Football Association.”

City added that Tevez, who will wear the number 32 shirt next season, will have the mandatory medical check and then link up with the squad on their pre-season tour of South Africa.

Tevez spent two years with United, scoring 34 goals in 99 apearances after joining from West Ham, winning two English Premiership titles and the 2008 Champions League crown.

He started out with Boca Juniors before joining Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005.

Earlier Monday, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson he realised weeks ago that Tevez would not stay at Old Trafford, despite his cult status with fans.

“I half expected Carlos Tevez would be going a long time back. I think he maybe did a deal around January because I spoke to him and gave him an offer on the night we played Inter Milan and he never came back to me,” Ferguson told reporters.

“I phoned him on holiday and he never got back to me and I texted him twice and he never got back to me then either, so obviously he had made his mind up a long time ago,

“He was a good player and did well for us. But he obviously assessed the situation and wanted to go somewhere else.”

Tags: Argentine, Barcelona, boca juniors, brazilian side, Carlos, carlos tevez, cult status, Emirates Stadium, emmanuel adebayor, English Premier League, football association, goal scorer, international player, league crown, Manchester, manchester city, Mark Hughes, medical check, Milan, new arsenal, number 32, old trafford, personal terms, samuel eto, samuel eto o, sir alex ferguson, South Africa, togolese, west ham

Togo say Adebayor will play against Cameroon

March 26, 2009

LOME (AFP) – Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor "will be able to play" for Togo against Cameroon on Saturday, Togolese coaching staff revealed here on Wednesday.

"Adebayor hasn’t joined up with us in Lome for nothing," a Togo official told AFP ahead of the first match of the last round of combined qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and African Nations Cup.

"He will play in the match against Cameroon," the official added.

"He will play in his role as captain as he always has, as this is a huge match for Togo."

Adebayor, who has not played since February 8 following a thigh injury, trained "normally" with his team-mates in front of 4,000 spectators at the municipal stadium here on Wednesday.

Togo’s Belgian coach Jean Thissen has called up 25 players for Saturday’s match.

The game is being played in the Ghanaian capital Accra because Togo are banned from playing at Lome’s Kegue stadium after violence flared during a 2-0 defeat to Mali there in October 2007.

Written by: AFP