For some time now, Togo's Eperviers have been unable to win their matches at Lomé's Kégué stadium. A situation that has prompted some fans to take a swipe at Togo's top soccer officials. How can these poor performances be explained when the Sparrowhawks hosted Cape Verde on Sunday, September 10, for the 6th and final day of the Ivory Coast 2023 AFCON qualifiers?
Stade de Kégué no longer works for the Eperviers.
A live match projection center in Sagbado, a district of the city of Lomé, quickly emptied on Sunday, September 3. The reason: the Eperviers Dames U20 have just lost to Guinea Bissau (1-3) at the Stade de Kégué in the qualifiers for the 2024 Women's World Cup. Eric Agbossou, a fan of the Eperviers, was expecting it. But he's still disappointed by the final score. Of course, he says, "no one imagined Guinea Bissau would beat us 3-1, but in the end, we deserved to get this result". Why can't Togo's Sparrowhawks get it right in official home matches? Here's an attempt at an explanation.
The myth of the curse
A former steward of Togo's national soccer team during the years when the Eperviers qualified for their first World Cup in 2006, Moustapha Bodé, who was in charge of the team's security, is said to be behind the situation. Known as "Vieux Bodé", he voiced his dissatisfaction on a local radio station, demanding the sum of 25 million CFA francs for environmental preparation for the Togolese national team. According to him, he had buried mystical things in the Stade de Kégué, and if his demand was not met, Togo would no longer be able to taste victory on the green rectangle of the stadium on the outskirts of Lomé."I swear to you, if I don't find my 25 million CFA francs, I'll stop helping the national team. If the Sparrowhawks have a match, and if I take water, I stay at my shop window, I talk and I pour it, the Sparrowhawks can do anything... Because I've been cheated too much. I've suffered a lot for the selection," he declared. Recent results in all categories of the Togolese national team seem to prove him right, so far. A statement that persists in the subconscious of the Togolese, as evidenced by their opinion on the matter."You have to pay Vieux Bodé's money and Togo will be purified in soccer. The man was clear in what he said," says fan Innocent.
Selections' sports policies under fire
Others put things into perspective."You have to pay old Bodé.Also, there were too many concerts on this pitch, so the youngsters spoiled the pitch by taking off their knickers. Everything needs to be redone, otherwise Togolese fans will end up having a stroke with these defeats," says Emmanuel Akakpo."Don't mix things up!Before qualification for the 2006 World Cup and the story of old Bodé in the meantime, Togo's national soccer teams in all categories were losing home matches and being eliminated from competitions. The real problem with Togolese soccer is that for a long time we were content with a few victories here and there. This led us to believe that we were as strong as the others.Unfortunately, reality is catching up with us, because nations that yesterday could not stand up to Togo in footballing terms are now overtaking us," says a more realistic Akouété Johnson.
For this fan, the case of the U20 women's team is a perfect example of the way Togolese soccer is managed. "Few people could say what criteria this team was put together according to.We didn't even feel that this team was preparing for a competition. Under these conditions, we can gather all the archangels to exorcise the Stade de Kégué, but Togo will continue to lose matches. As for the Bodé affair, I regard it as a piece of news, a poorly-crafted publicity stunt. Nothing more," he says.
Already eliminated from the race to qualify for AFCON 2023, Togo beat Cape Verde on Sunday at their Stade de Kégué 3-2. The stadium was packed with fans of the Togo national team. And if they have long since given up hope of qualifying, they are hoping to see their team finally overcome the malicious spell, after winning 3-2.
