Soccer on Backburner as Tournament Kicks off

The African Cup of Nations got underway in Angola on Sunday but rarely can a tournament have been so overshadowed by outside events.

Captain Emmanuel Adebayor and his Togo national team are returning home after three people died when their bus was attacked, while nine others, including two players, were injured. The team bus driver, assistant coach and a spokesman all died in Friday's horrific attack.

Rebels who have been fighting for the region's independence said they had carried out the attack. Any form of terrorism is deplorable, but it always makes me shudder when sport is used to make a statement in such a way.

I have heard a few points from different quarters, which I take issue with.

Firstly, it has been suggested that Togo's withdrawal from the tournament does not mean terrorism wins. I beg to differ. When a tournament is disrupted to such an extent by an abhorrent act, it sends a message that groups such as this can be heard effectively and have a major impact on an event that is being watched around the world. This is not to say that the Togo government was wrong to withdraw the team -albeit against many players' wishes - but the terrorists have left an indelible mark.

Angola were hoping the tournament would show how far the country has come since the civil war, but Friday's events will be a huge blow to such aspirations.

Secondly, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have said the team should have traveled by air rather than by road. But unless the stadium has an airport in it, it is surely necessary to travel by road in the last leg of the journey, so the risk would still have been there, even if Togo had made most of the trip by air. Such an occurrence could not have been predicted.

Finally, there is a danger that this kind of incident will be used as a stick to beat South Africa 2010 with. But it is ridiculous to suggest that a gun attack in Angola means the tournament in South Africa is any less safe. Yes, the country has its problems, but Angola is a similar distance from South Africa as, say, Norway is from England and no one would think of suggesting that any kind of international incident in the Scandinavian country sheds a cloud on England's 2018 World Cup bid. Separate countries, end of story.

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