It is possible that a fake Togo team played a football match against Bahrain this month. Togo football authorities are exploring the possibility that imposters lost a 3-0 match to Bahrain. This is confirmed by the fact that Togo says it never sent its national team to play a game against Bahrain on 7 September at the national stadium in Riffa.
FIFA has been asked to investigate.
Bahrain officials said that nothing appeared unseemly in the arrangement of the match, as it was all done through the usual channels and with the services of an agent they have known for a long time.
It wasn’t until play actually began that the Bahrain team noticed peculiarities. The alleged Togo imposters seemed unfit to play the entire ninety minutes and the poor quality of their performance was surprising. The Bahrain team won easily and found the game to be boring.
Bahrain Football Association spokesmen report that all procedures and processes where handled entirely up to proper guidelines, with the Togolese players even providing their passports.
Togo’s sports minister, Christophe Tchao, said that no one in his country new anything about the match and vowed to determine exactly what had happened.
Meanwhile, Bahrain Head Coach, Josef Hickersberger, expressed dismay and irritation over the situation. He had wanted to get good practice in for his team as they prepare to participate in the West Asian Championship. He felt the match with the fake Togo team was nothing more than wasted effort and opportunity.