Adebayor speaks up…but are the right people listening?

After the recent drama in the Togo camp with Emmanuel Adebayor refusing to fly with the team to Zambia for a World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifier, I knew what we needed was to hear directly from Emmanuel about the situation. Well, Captain Togo did speak his mind, and while he didn’t directly address the fear of flying issue, he had some important things to say.

In an interview with X Solar FM, Adebayor called out the Togo Football Federation for what it is: a disorganized, selfish, unprofessional group of “leaders”. Well, he never said selfish, that’s just my own opinion. :) You can read the article here if you would like but I’ll hit some of the high points in brief.

Ever since Togo burst onto the international scene with their impressive run to qualify for the World Cup in Germany, they have become a Football Federation that is known only by their star player Adebayor, and the state of disarray they are endlessly in. Adebayor realizes his role as the face of the country and is trying to use his clout and popularity to whip the federation into shape. It kind of came to a head with his refusal to fly to Zambia, and as much as I was upset with Adebayor for abandoning his teammates, I can understand the need to send a message to the powers that be.

“I won’t mention names but some of the administrators in my country are not interested (in) building the game in Togo and don’t care about the welfare of the players,” he quipped. Maybe the best thing to do would be to actually mention those names but I appreciate his tact. :) He went on to say, “It is very worrying to see how the game in Togo has deteriorated because of the unprofessional ways being used to run the game. All the players have sacrificed a lot for this country but time and time again the administrators let us down. I am forever committed to development of the game in Togo but something must change in the way the game is run.”

As far as using his position of influence to speak up for the team he had this to say, “The players come to me with their concerns about how things are going wrong with our country and as the captain I must stand up for them. Most of the players are scared that if they come out to protest they will (be) victimized and it has happened before because they can easily be sacrificed. They won’t sacrifice me because the fans will protest. So when I have this opportunity I should fight for the right thing to be done.”

Well said Emmanuel, anyone who is a fan of Togo football are, and have been echoing those same sentiments for years now. Will it make a difference? My gut tells me no but my heart is hoping for the best. There is too much talent in Togo football to be wasted on the account of a lousy federation.