Togo to consult players over pullout
CABINDA, Angola - Togo's football federation will consult with players before deciding whether to quit the African Nations Cup tournament after their bus was attacked in Angola, its head of communications told Reuters on Saturday.
But the players appeared set on leaving, and the English Premier League club Manchester City announced that their Togolese star Emmanuel Adebayor had already left Angola.
The team's spokesman and an assistant coach died on Saturday after being wounded in Friday's attack on the team bus in the Cabinda region of host Angola. The driver was also killed.
Messan Attelou said the officials from the Togolese delegation were heading to the team hotel.
"We are going now to see and talk to the players and then make a decision," he said.
But Manchester City said Adebayor "is on his way back from Angola".
"The lines of communication between the club and Emmanuel have been open all day, we have spoken to his advisers and his girlfriend and he is coming home," City spokesman Simon Heggie said.
And Moustapha Salifou, who plays for the Premier League club Aston Villa, was quoted as saying on his club's website that "We all want to go home to Togo".
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"We must wait, however, so that we can speak to our federation president and some people from CAF and let them know that we don't want to play," he said.
"No one wants to play. We just want to go home ... We can't play in these circumstances and we want to leave for home today."
NEWS: Cabinda to still host Nations Cup matches
NEWS: Togo goalkeeper serious but stable
NEWS: Minister - Togo pull out of Nations Cup
NEWS: Manchester City - Adebayor coming home
NEWS: Adebayor - Togo may quit Nations Cup
NEWS: Ivory Coast - No plans to quit tournament
NEWS: Organiser - Teams told not to travel by road
NEWS: Blatter - FIFA has confidence in Africa
NEWS: Jordaan - Gun attack will not affect World Cup
NEWS: African chief seeks Angola security assurances
NEWS: Two of Togo delegation die after ambush
NEWS: Wenger - Nations Cup should continue