A triple nationality
Born in France to Togolese parents, Marvin Senaya (21 matches and 1 goal with Auxerre this season) was naturally eligible to represent Togo internationally. And the staff of the Eperviers quickly checked his name among the binationals to be convinced, as he had just joined the professional group of Strasbourg, his training club. At that time, many were unaware of these Ghanaian roots, country of his grandparents.
“Marvin has a triple nationality in that he was born in France and is naturally French. He is of Togolese origin through his parents, his mother and me and he is also Ghanaian by right of my parents who are of Ghanaian origin, we are from Anyako (a village in the Volta region, in the east of Ghana and which borders with Togo),"
clarifies Mawuko Senaya, his father, in an open-heart interview on Sport FM, a radio station based in Lomé, the Togolese capital.
In terms of contact regarding Marvin, the (first) contact with the Togo team dates back three to four years already. And at the time - I will say things as they are - we were contacted by the Team Manager (Serge Akakpo). At the time, Marvin was returning from Rodez where he had a strong season and therefore joined the (professional) group of Patrick Vieira from Strasbourg. For us, he was joining a team where he had everything to prove, so we couldn’t allow him to join the national team with back and forth. He had to focus on his career (in the club) and try to win his place. Which was done, but the boy unfortunately found himself in a complex situation in that the new coach (Liam Rosenior, today at Chelsea) did not play him anymore... He was transferred to Auxerre last summer where he performs and is in full possession of his faculties. That was the first contact with Togo,"
continues Senaya, father.
The failed attempt of Daré Nibombe
While the lines were no longer moving after the first contacts made by Serge Akakpo, the former coach of the Eperviers du Togo, Daré Nibombe decided to take matters into his own hands. The latter therefore called up Mawuko Senaya with whom he played for the national team to accelerate the arrival of his son Marvin in the national team. Categorical refusal of the latter.
“The last contact with Togo? It was at the time of Daré Nibombe. He phoned me and said, "my brother, I need your son." I laughed because 
He also invites Togo to review its national sports policy, returning to the formation at the base to create champions: "It is not about letting others water and come pick. We have to start somewhere. That’s the problem with our team. We need to think about training players at a very young age. You shouldn’t pick things up when it’s done everything," he advises. Then to add: "My last conversation with Daré (about his son Marvin) was a year and a half or two years ago."
«Marvin never gave his consent to play for Togo»
It is therefore with the explosion of Marvin Senaya in Auxerre that Ghana entered the game with a bang. The staff of the Black Stars presented a solid and coherent career project that convinced the Senaya clan. In the meantime, there have been other nationalities that have contacted us, notably that of Ghana, whose nationality Marvin indeed holds. They made us a career proposal for him within the Black Stars national team. And to be honest, when you set up a career project, you have to see the exponential evolution and what it can bring to the player," explains Senaya to justify choosing her son, Marvin.
And for the Auxerrois who can compete in the next World Cup with the Black Stars unlike Togo who has not played since 2006 and his only participation while missing the last four African Cups of Nations, the choice was quickly made.
“Today, knowing the unstable situation of the Togo team, I think that any logical person, with logical reflection, would go towards a team whose talent can allow it to get closer to the clubs that allow the kid to evolve in his career, positively. So, a Ghanaian proposal based on insurance in case of injuries, and others," revealed Mawuko Senaya who assures not to have "regrets" seeing his son represent another nationality than his own.
However, Togo still summoned Marvin Senaya for this March break at the moment when the Ghanaian press announced that he had given his consent to join the Black Stars.
“Senaya was contacted three weeks ago. His response was positive for Togo. He gave his agreement. Afterwards, I will not enter into the polemics. We wait and then we will draw conclusions,"
revealed Patrice Neveu in a press conference. But never, the right-back of Auxerre openly said 'Yes' in Togo, according to his father.
“The kid had direct contact with the Team Manager of Togo. They had to exchange. I wasn’t even aware. But I can tell you that since the arrival of the new coach, at no time has a member of the Togolese football federation contacted me so that Marvin could come to the national team. The kid tells me that he talked with Serge, but he never gave him his consent to join the Togo national team,"
says Mawuko Senaya.
Amateurism and resentment of the past
The fact that Marvin Senaya was included in Neveu’s list surprised his family, and somewhat outraged Mawuko Seneya who deplored the lack of professionalism of the Federation, especially since the player never agreed.
"So we were surprised. I hear noises that the kid would have given his consent. The kid can never give his consent without the approval of his family unit. Based on this principle, it is a crucial lack of professionalism to include a player in a group that he has not even agreed to. Let everyone do their work with professionalism, because there, it’s really amateurism,"
regrets Mawuko Senaya who will remember his saddest memory with Togo and which visibly pushed him to support the choice of his son to play for Ghana.
Ghana, the choice of reason for Marvin Senaya.
Indeed, the former Togolese midfielder reveals having been abandoned by the Togolese Football Federation (FTF) after his injury in June 2008 during the victory (6-0) against Eswatini. It was also his last match in the Eperviers jersey.
“After my injury, no one is busy with me. I spent myself, there was no insurance. Nothing at all. And so far during the winter I can admit to you that these are painful pains for me. I suffer enormously. And when we see these kinds of things, we have a sick heart. When I see how the former players are suffering, I can tell you that it hurts a lot that we were able to spend all the time in the national team defending the homeland and that eventually we end up forgotten,"
he added, disappointed.
For a son of a former Togolese international, this is a great first that could create jurisprudence in the future. The son of Daré Nibombé, Samuel, playing for AS Monaco plays with the Espoirs de la Belgique at 18 years old. Adékambi Olufade, another former international whose son, Kingsley Olufade (18 years old) plays with the U19 of Lille, preferred not to address this question