Abandoning the African Cup of Nations would hand victory to killers

African Cup of Nations must continue

PARIS — In sending the cream of Africa’s soccer talent to Angola, African soccer administrators were at best optimistic, at worst irresponsibly foolhardy.

But now that the players are there, they should stay — if it can be made safe for them to do so.

The Cup of Nations was supposed to herald a banner year for African soccer, culminating with South Africa staging the World Cup. Abandoning the continent’s showpiece tournament would hand a dangerous victory to the cowardly killers who opened fire on Togo’s team.

The three deaths, perhaps with better security, could have been avoided. The dangers were evident. Both the U.S. and British governments, among others, had cautioned that Angola’s northern and oil-rich Cabinda province can be unsafe. Armed groups there who attacked expatriates in 2008 and 2009, raping, robbing and murdering, had vowed to do so again, the U.S. State Department warned as recently as November.

As happens too often, sports people have again been held hostage by politics.

Angola’s government wanted the resource-rich country full of poor people to present a new face to the world. The tournament was meant to showcase the recovery from the civil war that raged for 27 years, killing at least 500,000 people and driving 4 million others from their homes.

But in Cabinda, whose oil helped finance the civil war, not everyone laid down guns. In turning their weapons against the Togolese team, the rebels there have brutally forced the world to take notice.

Speaking from the safety of exile in Europe, one of their leaders told anyone who would listen that while they hadn’t meant to shoot the Togolese players, and were instead targeting their Angolan escorts, “all blows are permitted during war.”

Rodrigues Mingas said his group had sent registered mail months ago to Issa Hayatou, African soccer’s most senior administrator, warning him of the risks of staging some African Cup events in Cabinda.

“He didn’t want to take us seriously,” Mingas charged, speaking on French radio.

If there is even an ounce of truth to that claim, then Hayatou, his Confederation of African Football, which opted to host the competition in Angola, and the Angolan government have much explaining to do. Refusing to bow to terrorists and their threats is commendable. Not being fully prepared for such dangers is not.

The Togolese bus was escorted by Angolan soldiers who were armed to the teeth, the team’s French manager and players told French media. That begs the question of whether the Angolan military feared that an attack was possible and, if so, whether other transport and competition arrangements should have been made. War zones are hardly the best place for staging top-class international sports.

“The soldiers were hooded and heavily armed. Some were even clutching grenades. Initially, we didn’t really understand why so much force was being deployed for a simple football team,” Togo midfielder Alaixys Romao told French sports daily L’Equipe. “That was when one of my teammates told us that this place was reputed to be very dangerous.”

Abandoning the tournament, which opened Sunday with a minute’s silence before Angola and Mali played to a 4-4 draw, would not bring the dead back. But it would be a coup for the rebels and for all those around the world with grievances and a thirst to express them through violence. It would tag sports events as soft and potentially resonant targets, and that could put others at risk in future.

The temptation to draw parallels between Angola and South Africa, which will host the World Cup this June and July, should also be resisted. The Angolan attack does not make a South Africa World Cup unsafe. They are different countries with different security problems.

No one would have suggested that the London terror bombings that killed 52 people in 2005 made Germany a risky host for the World Cup the following year. The same should now be true for South Africa. South Africa’s sports minister must be given the benefit of doubt when he says that the World Cup “will be completely secure,” although visitors should also be conscious that that is a very big promise to make in these dangerous times and that South Africa’s crime problems are well documented.

The Angolans have pledged redoubled security in the wake of Friday’s attack. They must be good to their word. Should a player so much as break a fingernail from now on, the world will be watching.

The Togolese have gone home to bury their dead. Should they decide at the end of their three days of national mourning that they want to return to the cup, then everything must be done to accommodate them, even if that means rearranging the competition schedule and games.

It is to their honor that the Togolese players were reluctant to go home — “Those who are dead, those who fell, will they be happy that we return?” asked their captain, Emmanuel Adebayor — and that the other teams have decided to stay in Angola despite their own safety concerns.

Against such courage, terror can’t win.

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org