'It's difficult' - 2008 CAF player of the year recounts team bus gun attacks at AFCON

'It's difficult' - 2008 CAF player of the year recounts team bus gun attacks at AFCON

Hassan Abdulsalam 08:01 - 25.10.2024

During the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, separatist rebels attacked the team bus of one of the national teams in Cabinda.

2008 African Footballer of the Year winner Emmanuel Adebayor, has recalled the horrifying experience of the Togolese national team during the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

On January 8, 2010, the Togolese team bus was attacked by separatist rebels in Cabinda, Angola. The attack lasted for over half an hour, resulting in the deaths of two people and leaving the survivors traumatised.

Adebayor recounts team bus gun attacks during AFCON

The first and only Togolese to win the African Footballer of the Year award disclosed that he can't forget the experience.

Adebayor recounts team bus gun attacks during AFCON
Adebayor recounts team bus gun attacks during AFCON Adebayor recounts team bus gun attacks during AFCON

"Sometimes you can be in your home cinema watching a movie, or somewhere when somebody drops something, which has that similar sound to a gunshot and you remember what happened in 2010.

The attack had a profound impact on Adebayor and the other survivors. "I'm a big fan of action movies. I still watch them but it's difficult.

"Sometimes you see people shooting a bus and it takes you straight back," Adebayor told BBC Africa.

Adebayor recounts team bus gun attacks during AFCON
Adebayor recounts team bus gun attacks during AFCON Adebayor recounts team bus gun attacks during AFCON

Emmanuel Adebayor scored 32 goals in 87 appearances for Togo which made him one of the legends of the West African footballing nation.

Meanwhile, the Togolese national team was banned from the next two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations (2012 and 2014) tournaments after withdrawing following a deadly bus attack.

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