sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
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 ...
is run by the
Togolese Football Federation
The Togolese Football Federation (french: Fédération Togolaise de Football) or FTF is the governing body of football in Togo. In 2006, the Togo national football team participated for first time in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Staff
* Presi ...
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. Football is the most popular sport in Togo.
Recent history
Togo qualified for the first time to a FIFA World Cup in 2006, for the edition to be held in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
; however, its participation was marred by incidents and headlines. There were problems within the Togolese Football Federation as well as between players and the Football Association, linked to were financial bonuses. The culmination of that conflict led to the resignation of the national team coach,
Otto Pfister
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded ...
, and the threat made by the players not to play their game against Switzerland on 16 June 2006. Ultimately, the FIFA stepped in to satisfy the players' requirements and the first boycott of a FIFA World Cup game never happened. Togo was knocked out of the tournament in the group stage after losing to South Korea, Switzerland and France.
Over the following months, the stalemate continued to mar Togolese football, and eventually resulted in the dismissal of strike pair and Kader Coubadja-Touré, and defender
African Nations Cup
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
being held there. The bus driver, assistant coach and team spokesman died, and two players were also injured. This led to Togo withdrawing from the tournament at the behest of the Togolese government.
On 12 April 2010,
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 Ho ...
, the most famous Togolese player, retired from duty with the Togo National team. He currently plays for Turkish
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
side
Kayserispor
Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits.
The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fi ...
.
On 26 November 2011, former Togo goalkeeper Charles Balogou was among six people killed when a bus, carrying players and officials from the Etoile Filante delegation, plunged into a ravine 130 kilometers north of
Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437
and caught fire. Togo football federation spokesman Aime Ekpe said another 25 people from the delegation — 19 of them players — in addition to the driver were injured in the crash.Former Togo goalkeeper among 6 dead in bus crash
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...