Zakuani: I Don’t See How It Should Raise Questions over South Africa

The tragic incident in Togo today has inevitably reopened the debate about the World Cup finals in South Africa. Already, newspaper columnists have poured out editorials doubting the safety of fans and players this summer. While Togo are yet to formally take the decision to withdraw formally from the African Cup of Nations, and EPL clubs are being publicly supportive of the tournament, no-one is in any doubt that today’s events have been very negative for the image of Africa and African football.

But some have already gone over the top. After all, the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was taking place in Sweden while atrocities were being perpetrated in the former Yugoslavia 700 miles away, half the distance between Cabinda and South Africa. No-one suggested the tournament be postponed, although the situation was considered significant enough to ban Yugoslavia from competing.

One man who does feel that some are too ready to stigmatise the whole continent is Sounders FC’s Steve Zakuani. Zakuani is known for being both very politically aware and very conscious of his African heritage, despite being brought up mostly in London.

We talked to him about today’s events and he started off by explaining the roots of the Cabinda conflict to us.

“Cabinda is technically a part of Angola; even though it is physically separated from Angola’s mainland by both Congos, Republic and Democratic Republic, it is still considered a part of Angola by law. The main problem is that the inhabitants, around 250,000, dispute that and want to be recognised as their own territory.
Large oil reserves are located in Cabinda and the locals believe that to be the only reason for Angola’s continuing interest in claiming Cabinda as its own. So because of that, different independence movements have emerged but they are all fighting for the same thing – the right to be free from the Angola connection. They want to control their own land, resources, language, and economic future.”

Angola has had a history of a bitter civil war in which outside influences, notably Cuba and the minority white Apartheid government of South Africa, used local factions as proxies for their wider ideological conflict. In the case of the Cabinda conflict, it seems that the dispute is more localised and unlikely to trigger wider violence. Nevertheless, the bad publicity the rebels’ actions have brought to Africa in what is set to be their finest sporting year will not rally anyone to their banner, according to Zakuani.

It’s hard for me to say what the rest of Africa thinks of them because I’m not there and haven’t been in so long. Personally, I have no opinion on them. The only thing I do know is that what happened today is tragic and won’t win them many friends.

“There shouldn’t be any concern about them hosting the World Cup”

Of greater concern to the authorities in South Africa, may be the reaction of those outside the continent, especially fans thinking twice about traveling to the country this summer. Zakuani though is wary of instant over reactions from those with no knowledge of the area, but an agenda of their own.

“Firstly, I was as shocked as everyone else when I read about the incident, it’s very tragic. But I don’t think there is a need for people to react in some of the ways that they have concerning Africa’s capability in hosting the world cup. These attacks were not soccer related at all, they were more along the lines of being political statements by this group. It’s unfortunate that the Togo national team was affected in this way, and that a life was lost.
However, I don’t personally see how that should raise questions over South Africa hosting the world cup. The group claiming responsibility for this, say that their country is at war, and they are protecting it. South Africa doesn’t have much to do with Cabinda so there shouldn’t be any concern about them hosting the world cup.”

Steve is positive that were he a fan, he would still travel, citing the power that football can have, but as he will be preoccupied with Sounders FC’s second season, he will have to watch the games as a supporter like the rest of us.

So, in a lighter vein, he turned to what we all seriously hope will be the talk of the summer, the actual football. The country of his birth failed to qualify, but the country of his youth, England, will now face the country of his adulthood, the United States. It looked like he was going to (in London parlance) bottle it, but then he committed and will have to face the consequences of Brad Evans’ and Kasey Keller’s ire.

“If I was a fan, I would go. Soccer is a sport that unites the world, and I think it will be a strong statement to see fans from all 32 nations in Africa to support their teams. Even in the midst of fear and tragedy, soccer speaks loudly and can give people some hope and something positive to cheer for. To be honest, I’m just hoping to see a good game. But, I obviously do want England to win that one because of my ties there, and also because I want to come in to training the next day and have bragging rights over the American players!”

Sadly for Steve and for many fans today, such thoughts seem very distant as Togo mourns one person and waits anxiously over the fate of others.

Togo Assault: Latest News

Throughout the day, more details have been coming through the local Francophone media. Sadly there has been at least one fatality. The driver of the Togo team bus was killed in the incident, while nine others were injured including two players, an assistant manager, physio, goalkeeping coach and another coach.

Defender Serge Akakpo, who plays for Romanian club Vaslui, was hit in the back by two bullets and lost a lot of blood in the attack.

Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor said the players were unsure whether Akakpo would survive at the time, but his club reported that his condition was stabilised and he underwent successful surgery.

Reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale, who plays for French club GSI Pontivy, was also wounded, while several other players required hospital treatment and were later seen with bandages on legs, hands and faces.

The African football authorities have expressed surprise that the Togolese chose to drive all the way from West Africa, a distance of over 1500 miles. They said they believed the Togolese were flying to the Angolan capital Luanda, and driving north to Cabinda.

Driver Killed as Rebels Open Fire on Togo team Bus

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