Kodjovi Dodji Akanava Obilalé (born 8 October 1984) is a
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
lese former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. His last club was the French amateur club
GSI Pontivy
GSI Pontivy (french: Garde Saint-Ivy Pontivy) is a French football club based in Pontivy, Morbihan. It was founded in 1935. They play at the Stade Municipal du Faubourg de Verdun, which has a capacity of 3,200. The colours of the club are gree ...
. His career was cut short after he was severely injured in a
bus attack against the Togolese team that took place in the
Cabinda Province
Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo, kg, Kabinda) is an exclave and province of Angola in Africa, a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda, known locall ...
,
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, just days before the start of the
2010 African Cup of Nations
The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 20 ...
.
Club career
Born in
Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437 , Obilalé began his career with
Chamois Niortais
Chamois Niortais Football Club (often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) is a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of western France. It was founded in 1 ...
, before signing a contract with
FC Lorient
Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French ...
in 2003. After one year in Lorient. he returned to Togo and signed a contract with
Étoile Filante de Lomé, where he played for three years. In July 2006, he returned to France and moved to
CS Quéven, where he played 39 games in one and a half year, before leaving the club in the summer of 2008 to sign a contract with
GSI Pontivy
GSI Pontivy (french: Garde Saint-Ivy Pontivy) is a French football club based in Pontivy, Morbihan. It was founded in 1935. They play at the Stade Municipal du Faubourg de Verdun, which has a capacity of 3,200. The colours of the club are gree ...
.
International career
Obilalé is a former member of the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
, and was called up to the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
. He was the only member of the World Cup squad to play for a club in Togo. He was
capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
five times by Togo in 2009.
2010 African Cup of Nations shooting
On 8 January, a bus carrying the Togo national football team to the African Cup of Nations was fired at by a group of rebel terrorists from
Cabinda Province
Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo, kg, Kabinda) is an exclave and province of Angola in Africa, a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda, known locall ...
,
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, just after they had crossed the Congo border. Obilalé was one of the two players who were reported to have bullet wounds. Defender
Serge Akakpo
Serge Ognadon Akakpo (born 15 October 1987) is a Togolese footballer who played as a centre-back.
Career Club
Akakpo began his career with Auxerre after breaking through the youth academy, he made his first-team debut with Auxerre in July 200 ...
, was the other player confirmed to have been shot. The driver of the bus was killed during the attack, and the assistant coach and a spokesperson later died from their wounds. Later, Obilalé was reported dead by some sources including MSNBC.com; such reports were later dismissed by his club
GSI Pontivy
GSI Pontivy (french: Garde Saint-Ivy Pontivy) is a French football club based in Pontivy, Morbihan. It was founded in 1935. They play at the Stade Municipal du Faubourg de Verdun, which has a capacity of 3,200. The colours of the club are gree ...
in a press announcement, stating the player was undergoing surgery in South Africa instead. Later reports indicated that Obilalé's condition had improved following the shootout, and that he was "recovering well."
In March 2010, Obilalé returned to France to continue his rehabilitation at the Kerpape centre in
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginn ...
; later in July, he confirmed that, as a result of the shooting, he was still suffering serious walking problems, and that he did not think about playing football anymore.
Obilalé's rehabilitation was funded by
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
, the Togo government and the
French Football Federation
The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of football in France. It also includes the overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), the over ...
, and the goalkeeper complained that "the only institution that did not help me, it is the
Confederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...
".
[Togo – Kodjovi Obilalé : « Je n’en veux plus à mes agresseurs » ]
On 30 July 2010, his contract with French football club Pontivy expired, and he stated that he had serious financial issues. He also announced his intention of denouncing the Togo Football Federation, on the grounds that it had neglected his situation. These concerns were also raised by a number of other former fellow players, including international teammate
Emmanuel Adebayor
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Togolese Championnat National club Semassi. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur ...
, who, according to Obilalé, regularly calls him and helps him financially on his own.
On 26 July 2010, Obilalé was given the honour of taking the kick-off during a friendly game between
FC Lorient
Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French ...
and
Stade Rennais F.C.
Stade Rennais Football Club (), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais FC, Stade Rennais, Rennes, or simply SRFC, is a French professional football club based in Rennes, Brittany. They compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, and pla ...
, which was organized to raise funds for the rehabilitation facility where he had recovered. The game was attended by more than 3,000 people.
Obilalé has since earned a diploma in special education, and works in the field of youth rehabilitation for Lorient association Remise en Jeu. In 2015, he published an autobiography, ''Un destin foudroyé'' ("A Destiny Struck").
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Further reading
Togo bus attack goalkeeper: 'I'm not afraid of dying any more'
via BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obilale, Kodjovi
1984 births
Living people
Footballers from Lomé
Togolese footballers
Togo men's international footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Chamois Niortais F.C. players
FC Lorient players
Étoile Filante du Togo players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
Shooting survivors
Survivors of terrorist attacks
GSI Pontivy players
21st-century Togolese people