Togo reinstated in Africa Cup of Nations

Published on: 07 May 2010

The president of Caf, Issa Hayatou, has asked the executive committee of the Africa's governing body to reinstate Togo to the Africa Cup of Nations.

This is a resounding victory for Ghana president John Evans Atta Mills and his deputy John Mahama who had had confronted Hayatou over the issue two months ago.

This comes after a successful mediation by the president of world governing body Sepp Blatter who helped to reach a deal with the Cameroonian administrator.

Blatter was asked by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to mediate in the row over Togo's exclusion from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Togo's reported the case to CAS claiming injustice as they axed from the tournament from withdrawing from the recent Africa Cup of Nations following a fatal  attack on their team.

But a deal has been reached to reinstate Togo into the qualifiers of the continental tournament, CAS has revealed.

"The CAF President has accepted to ask the CAF Executive Committee at its meeting of 15 May 2010 to lift the sanctions excluding the TFF from the next two editions of the African Cup of Nations," a CAS statement read.

Togo Football Federation (TFF) during the mediation process also admitted that they were wrong to have withdrawn the team.

"The TFF agreed that it did not comply with the CAF competition regulations in relation to the withdrawal of their team from the 2010 African Cup of Nations," the CAS statement added.

The Fifa boss was delighted they were able to solve the problem within t.he football family

Blatter, the president of Fifa said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to find a solution which is satisfactory for both parties.

"The success today is for the entire football community, in particular for African football.

"This shows that we can solve internal disputes within the football family for the benefit of all those who are involved in our game, and in particular for the players”.

Togo pulled out of the recent tournament in Angola after two members of the squad were killed in an attack.

Caf banned the Hawks from the next two Nations Cups because the decision to withdraw came from the government.

The attack on Togo's team convoy took place as they travelled to their base in the northern Angolan enclave of Cabinda.

Two members of the party died and one was seriously injured and after several days of confusion the team was called home to take part in national mourning.

The attack was claimed by the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec).

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more