Togo team that lost to Bahrain 'completely fake'

| Friday September 17, 2010 00:00

That incident led to distraught captain Emmanuel Adebayor quitting the team. And now, there is a mysterious group of players impersonating the team and losing unsanctioned friendlies on their behalf.

Last week a squad claiming to be Togo lost 3-0 to Bahrain in an unsanctioned exhibition. According to interim federation chairman Seiyi Memene, that team was 'completely fake.'

'We cannot send our players to play friendly matches abroad without the approval of FIFA,' Memene told the AP. 'The players that took part in the friendly match against Bahrain were completely fake. We have not sent any team of footballers to Bahrain. The players are not known to us.'

Investigations have been opened in order to discover even the most basic information, like who the players were and if they are actual members of the national team. Togo's sports minister is asking FIFA to look into the matter, as well, but so far the governing body has declined to comment because it didn't sanction the match. Funny enough, there is still a match report for the game on FIFA's official website.

 The AP goes on to explain just how this real match against a fake national team came about:Three days before the game in Bahrain, Togo lost 2-1 in Bostwana in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.

Doubts emerged over the authenticity of the Togo team in Bahrain after a federation official told local media that the game had been 'sold' to the BFA by a 'fake agent.'

Under FIFA rules, national teams are free to arrange their own exhibitions and even play in a neutral country if they choose. However, FIFA does collect a fee from match revenues and also requires that exhibitions between teams from different continents are arranged by match agents it has licensed.

Match agent licenses can only be held by individuals, not companies, and must be approved by the FIFA players' status committee, which is chaired by Geoff Thompson, England's representative on FIFA's executive committee.- (AP)