- Togo Factfile -
PROFILE
Founded in 1960, Togo had to wait 18 years to record its first major victory in international football. This famous victory came against Ghana in the second group fixture of the 1998 CAF African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso. A victory in the last match of the group stage against Tunisia and the Eperviers (Hawks) of Togo would have made it through to the quarterfinals. Two years later in Ghana, Togo again showed good form and recorded its second and last victory to date in the African Cup of Nationswhen they beat Cameroon 1-0. Not surprisingly, the expectations on Togo going into the World Cup preliminaries back in October 2003 were reflecting the countries official ranking as number 96 in the world. Togo recovered from a 1-0 away deficit to Equatorial Guinea winning 2-0 at home to enter the group stages of the African Zone.
For a team that has never reached the quarterfinal stages of the African Cup of Nations, a top three place seemed to be within reach facing Senegal, Zambia, Congo, Mali and Liberia in Group 1 of the African World Cup qualifying groups. The Hawks kicked off with a 0-1 defeat away to Zambia before recording a famous 3-1 home win against African giants Senegal. This victory was to signal the starting point of an amazing unbeaten run that stretched all the way to the final whistle of the last official qualification game away to Congo on October 8th 2005. One can imagine the tension and anticipation among the five million inhabitants of Togo, as the team twice came from behind to level the score in Brazzaville. A point was enough to secure a place in Germany 2006 and to make history. Demonstrating the confidence introduced by legendary but now dismissed coach Stephan Keshi, Togo didn’t settle for the draw, which would have been enough to secure qualification. Sheyi Adebayor, the Hawk’s lethal finisher, found his strike partner Abdel Coubadja to give Togo a 3-2 victory and a jubilant reception upon the team’s arrival back to Lomé. Quite deservedly, the Hawks now find themselves in position 59 on the official FIFA ranking, an impressive improvement of almost 40 places since kicking off their World Cup dream. Togo will face France, Korea and Switzerland at the upcoming World Cup
GENERAL
Address:Fédération Togolaise de Football
Case Postale 5
LOMÉ
TOGO
Telephone:++228/221 2698
Telefax:++228/222 1413
Email:
Internet:
Founded:1960
FIFA Member:1962
Capital:Lomé
Currency:CFA Franc
Population:5.4 million
Area:56,785km²
FEDERATION OFFICIALS
President:GNASSINGBE Rock
Vice President:REINHARDT David
Vice President: BOURAIMA Yekini
General Secretary:LOGOSSOU Max Yaovi
Treasurer: LAWSON-GALLUS Louis
National Team Coach:PFISTER Otto
NATIONAL TEAM COLORS
Home colors:Yellow jersey
Green shorts
White socks
Away colors:Green jersey
White shorts
Red socks
NUMBERS AND FACTS
Associated Clubs:565
Teams:565
Registered Players:1.697
FIFA World Ranking:59 (March 2006)
Most Famous Clubs:
Entente 2, Agaza, ASFOSA, ASKO
Main Stadium:
Stade de Kéqué in Lomé: 30.000
HONOURS
African Cup of Nations:
1972 (Cameroon)Group Stage
1984 (Ivory Coast)Group Stage
1998 (Burkina Faso)Group Stage
2000 (Ghana/Nigeria)Group Stage
2002 (Mali)Group Stage
2006 (Egypt)Group Stage
Overall Tournament Record:Appearances: 6
Played:18
Won:2
Drawn:6
Lost:10
Goals For:13
Goals Against:28
2006 FIFA WORLD CUP DRAW
Group G:France, Switzerland, Korea and Togo
Tuesday, June 13thv KoreaFrankfurt3.00pm
Monday, June 19thv SwitzerlandDortmund3.00pm
Friday, June 23rd v FranceCologne9.00pm