Adebayor discusses Togo future with officials
Emmanuel Adebayor will not make a return to international football on Friday but could be back in the Togo line-up for a World Cup qualifier next Tuesday after more talks between the Tottenham Hotspur striker and football federation officials.
Adebayor wants officials to keep promises they made to look after the families of two delegation members who were killed and those injured when the Togo team were attacked in Angola almost two years ago.
Adebayor said he was meeting Togolese federation officials in Accra in neighbouring Ghana and would make a decision in the next days.
"There are a few things we must still discuss but I'll keep it between me and the football association people of my country," he told the BBC, which then reported that Adebayor was seeking assurances of better security for the team and more compensation for those injured and the families of officials killed when the team bus was ambushed before last year's African Nations Cup finals.
Adebayor has not played for his country since the shooting by separatists in January 2010, minutes after Togo had crossed into the disputed Angolan territory of Cabinda on their way to a game. Two delegation members died and goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was seriously injured.
The Togo federation said Adebayor could join the squad at the weekend, ahead of Tuesday's second leg of the first-round qualifier against Guinea Bissau. The first leg is in Bissau on Friday.
"We are expecting him to join up with the squad when they return on Saturday," a federation spokesman said on Thursday.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
‘Maybe I’ll be signed by Wrexham, who knows? English football would suit me – if an offer came, I wouldn’t think twice, I’d go immediately’ Euro 2024 cult hero reveals his UK dream
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023