'The enemy is us...' : Togo and the Price of Terror

In a week where a disloyal thug, who also plays football, dominates the headlines with the will-he-wont saga surrounding his England captaincy (incidentally, he wont), a far more shocking piece of news that has genuinely put the game into disrepute has been completely overlooked. Well let's face it, the nation's heroic captain cheating on his wife with his best mates bird is unfortunately considered far more newsworthy than anything going on in a completely different continent. No matter how disgraceful.

Either way, thanks to John Terry being a twat for the hundredth time in his career, it has conveniently ignored the fact that the Togolese national team have recently been banned from playing in the next two ACoN's. Why? Because they shockingly decided that playing in this years competition was a tad disrespectful seeing as some of their reserve team and back-room staff didn't make it out of the horrific machine-gun attack alive.

Here is my mate Luke Doran, a Liverpool fan-in-exile in Spain, with his views on the matter. It appears that even a Scouser has got more sense than those bureaucrats in Africa.

Probably the worst, most disgusting and
insulting thing I've witnessed in football.


Regardless of your interest in football, this story matters.



On Friday 8th January 2010, the Togolese national football team were driving
towards their base for the upcoming African Cup of Nations. Crossing
between the Democratic Republic of Congo towards Angola where the tournament was
taking place their journey was interrupted by a machine gun attack. The
team reportedly spent ´half an hour clinging onto their lives as bullets
sprayed their bus.´ 3 people were killed with the reserve goal keeper still in
hospital, to this day, with a bullet lodged below his spine.

4 weeks later the final of the African Nations Cup took place last
Sunday – Egypt beat Ghana – more importantly, 24 hours before the
event the CAF (Confederation of African football) announced that they were
banning Togo
from the next 2 competitions, which will cover the next 4 years, plus
a $50,000 fine for breaking regulations in withdrawing from the
event.



The basic facts are here: The Togo
team were attacked, killing three people. After some messy procrastination
the team did not play in the tournament and have been subsequently punished
with this 4 year ban and the fine.



Whether you like it or not football, matters to people. It inspires people
and it brings people together on a global scale like nothing else. The
only other event to even touch the significance of the World Cup in
creating passion, frenzied discussion and global interest is the
Olympics…and really this doesn't really come close to how the people of
the competing nations will be feeling come South Africa this June.

As is evident through several
observations, football matters in Africa. How
it compares in popularity to South America or Europe
is a moot point. Pele may have been wrong when he said Africa would win a World
Cup by the year 2000, however the presence of African players in all the major
European leagues with key players at Chelsea, Barcelona and Inter Milan and the
destination for this years World Cup, stamps authority on the assertion: Africa
matter in World Football.

To fail to acknowledge this
latest act of cruelty, coldness and passive detachment by ALL of
the footballing governments would be an insult to Togo, our
World Cup hosts and the continent itself.



For the people of Togo
who will have been anticipating this tournament for the last 2 years
to deal with news of the fatal attack followed by their
departure from the tournament was difficult enough. To compound matters
the response of the Confederation of African Football in enforcing this
ban is a bitter and inhumane insult.


As some person pointed out in quite an articulate, decent manner.....


"..as of this moment, the reactions:


...of the entire world football hierarchy - massive fail...


...of Togo's African neighbours - massive fail...


...of the rest of the world - massive fail...


...as Pogo famously said, "We have met the enemy, and it is us..."

But what can we legally do?


Of course, the only thing we can do, which would actually make FIFA, UEFA, CAF,
and all the rest, actually do something, is to stop buying or consuming any
product or service that even remotely benefits any professional or international
side or organising body of football.


And that will never happen, even from Chelsea fans, even if Sir Alex Ferguson
and Arsene Wenger would receive their P45's tonight as a result, followed
immediately by a personal visit from Jeff Mallock.

We have indeed met the enemy, and it is us...



Here is an article if you’re interested: Piers Edwards in the BBC.


Thanks for reading, if you feel inspired, get on the email, write to CAF, FIFA
and that c*nt Blatter.