Ghana stays calm as Hawks fly out

Ghana completed their last training session on Sunday ahead of what appears to be an uncertain date with Togo at the African Cup of Nations.

The Black Stars were billed to line up on Monday against neighbours, Togo in their Group B opener in Cabinda but the Hawks flew out on Sunday following the gun attack on their team bus which left three dead.

President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi told www.ghanafa.org an hour before midnight on Sunday that Ghana has not been notified of any pullout by the Togolese though reports have confirmed their departure from the Angolan enclave.

“The Ghana Football Association has not been notified that our intended opponents for the first group match, Togo will not honour the game.

“We trained today [Sunday] and are keeping the team ready for the start of the group matches in the competition here in Cabinda.

“The match coordinator for our group came to see us this [Sunday] evening but said nothing about the situation. Caf has not informed us that Group B will be a three-team group yet.

“But when it comes to that, we would have to be ready,” Kwesi Nyantakyi told www.ghanafa.org.

Kwesi Nyantakyi says Ghana is still focused amid the uncertainty surrounding the fixture as there are suggestions Togo might return for their remaining group games though Group B will go ahead in Cabinda with just three teams if they fail to arrive.

“Nothing is certain for now. The past two days has been dominated by whether Togo would be playing or not.

“It's a back-and-forth situation which makes it pretty confusing. We can't completely rule out a game against them [Togo]. They might be in on Monday for the game.

“Until Caf confirms that to us, we can't look at the next game,” the President of the Ghana Football Association said.

Despite their departure, Togo's sports minister, Christophe Tchao has revealed that they have asked for their place at the African Cup of Nations to be kept open.

"We have ordered a three-day mourning," said Tchao.

"The players are leaving with the bodies of their fallen brothers and we have asked the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to find an arrangement so we can catch up with the competition later."