Togo Football Team Disqualified From Africans Cup
Togo's national football team has been formally disqualified from the African Cup of Nations. Last Friday, the players were shot in a deadly ambush as their bus entered Cabinda, resulting in the death of assistant coach and squad spokesman.
Togo's Prime Minister, Gilbert Houngbo, has told the football team to immediately return home.
"If there is a team or persons present under the banner of Togo at the opening of the African Nations Cup this afternoon, it will be a false representation. The team must return today," he told reporters.
The players want to play as a tribute to the dead. It will be inspiring to see Togo football team participate and maybe even win the tournament, despite the tragedy.
On the other hand, it will be irresponsible to their family members if more deaths occur. I don't think football glory is more important than human lives.
After this tragedy, security is now a major issue for sporting events. Hopefully, the World Cup 2010, held this summer in South Africa, will not see any terror attacks.
Sports is supposed to unite people, as we saw in Invictus, but if top teams start staying away, the tournaments become irrelevant.
0 comments:
Post a Comment