A Soccer Tragedy

Posted on | January 9, 2010 | No Comments

On Friday, the Togolese National Squad enroute to a prestigious futbol tournament – the African Nations Cup – was set upon by rebels as the bus in which the squad was travelling crossed from the Democratic Republic of Congo into the Angolan enclave of Cabinda. The rebels opened fire on the bus with machine guns, and although there have been conflicting reports, it seems certain that at least one person (the driver) has died and at least two others wounded in the assault. Reports as of this morning seem to indicate that one of the goalkeepers, one of the assistant coaches and a spokesperson for the team have become casualties as well. The Togo team officially pulled out of the tournament earlier today, and coaches & players throughout the world have called for the tournament to be cancelled.
So, once again, the world of sport, and in particular, soccer, has been hauled into the spotlight and found wanting. To me, the only correct decision is to cancel this tournament and take a serious look at the security infrastructure on the African continent. It matters not that Angola, the nation hosting the African Nations Cup this year, has vowed to “redouble efforts” on security, the damage has been done to both the value of human life and the reputation of the African nation. In 5 short months, national squads from around the globe and hundreds of thousands of travelling fans will descend on the nations of Africa for the World Cup. I fear that rebels, such as these that have created this tragedy today, will step up activities and create a dangerous environment for players, fans & staff at the World Cup should things not be contained. My plea, then, is to please cancel, or at least delay, the African Nations Cup and re-consider the safety of everyone for future tournaments.

~PGK

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