Togo football team pull out of African Cup of Nations

The Togo national football team, including stars such as Emmanuel Adebayor, have pulled out of the African Cup of Nations, citing that they were witness to an ‘act of barbarism’ which has removed any intention or desire they had of playing football.

The team were attacked on their way through an oil-rich region of Angola, the country where the tournament is taking place. Three people are now known to have died from the attack, which left two other people with gunshot wounds. There has been no word yet on the status of the attackers, who are thought to have been motivated by theft.

Call for boycott

The Angolan government and organizers of the football competition have urged the Togo team to stay and complete the tournament, and have guaranteed their safety, however it seems that the Togo players have no motivation left to play on.

It is thought that they will also lobby the other members of their group, who include Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast team, to boycott the competition completely. This would be devastating to the organizers who have been desperately trying to switch the focus back to football after the attack took place two days ago.