CAF Champions League: Enyimba See Red In Lome

Enyimba have received a shocking revelation of the disturbing lengths Anges de Notse are willing to go to unsettle the team after receiving an unfinished building as hotel accommodation in a remote part of Lome.
A sign of how bad things would get for the delegation from Nigeria started at the Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport shortly upon arrival but nothing could prepare the team for the horrors that were ahead.
It began with the absence of o
fficials of Anges de Notse at the airport and Togo Football Federation representatives. Not a single staff of the club or Federation was on sight to receive the Enyimba delegation. Instead, what could be found were two Toyota Hiace buses presented to convey the entire Enyimba contingent, a clear violation of the CAF Champions League rules which states that a luxury bus and a saloon car must be given to a visiting team.
The drivers of the bus, in native Togolese language said they were told to come to the airport and convey the 40 man contingent to their hotel. But for the efforts of an advanced party led by the Enyimba boss Felix Anyansi Agwu, working closely with officials of the Nigerian Embassy, players and officials of the club would certainly had been stranded at the airport.
A separate bus, much larger than what the Togolese had offered was obtained by Felix Anyansi Agwu before the team made a short trip to the Nigerian Embassy, where they were warmly received by Ambassador Sunday Matthew. It was after the reception that officials of the club proceeded to the hotel that had been offered by their Togolese hosts.
A 40-minute drive out of central Lome, through bumpy and dusty untarred roads was a sign of things to come. At some point during the drive, the drivers of the two buses suddenly had no idea where they were headed. They stopped and asked for directions, going back and forth, reversing, doing u-turns and acting confused. For several minutes, they poorly acted out the script that had been given to them by Anges de Notse. The intention was to frustrate the Enyimba team, get them exhausted and fatigued by driving along some of the worst roads in Lome.
Several minutes later, the buses headed off road. After twisting and turning through two-feet of water, they arrived at the Centre de Conference - CSI Afrique. It was an old, derelict building with pools of water on patches of uncut grass. There no signs of life, except the thump, thump, thump of carpenters quickly nailing roofing sheets at the top of the uncompleted structure. It was a shocking sight to behold and made even more disturbing by the absence of any security personnel. Only the construction workers could be seen wandering the premises and staring coldly at officials of Enyimba.
Unknown to the Togolese, discreet, separate hotel accommodation arrangements had been made for the players by the advanced party and there was evident disappointment on the faces of the men who were around when they discovered the players were not a part of the group to be accommodated in the fetid environment. Even the man who showed up and claimed to be from the Togolese Football Federation seemed annoyed by the absence of the Enyimba players. He was asked to present some identification, could not provide one and was quickly dismissed from the presence of the Enyimba officials.
There were promises of food and water coming, keys to tiny rooms were offered but the officials strongly condemned the accommodation and refused to go inside. After standing outside with their bags for five hours, the Match Commissioner of Sunday's match showed up. He admitted the conditions were bad and encouraged the Togolese to offer better solutions. At 10 pm, an official from the Togolese Football Federation finally arrived but insisted the accommodation was good.
In a weak attempt to foster goodwill, he sent for food. Two plastic containers that smelt bad were later hauled in by one of the bus drivers. Enyimba chairman Felix Anyansi Agwu who had vehemently opposed the accommodation all along became angry at that point and asked the Togolese if they were dogs.
"What kind of inhuman treatment is this?" he questioned. "Are we dogs? Are we dogs that you can go out and bring food in containers for? Is this the way you people behave, after the warm hospitality you got in Nigeria?"
"If you must win a match, must you go to these lengths? You bring a team to an uncompleted building, where there is no security, no food, no water just to win a match. Since 3 pm we got here, everyone is still standing outside with their luggage, this is 11 pm. What is this? What are you doing?" he queried.
At midnight, after a breakdown of talks between the official from the TFF and representatives of the Nigeria Football Federation, the Match Commissioner and the Enyimba chairman, the officials who had been standing for long hours, tired and hungry were finally told to get back into the buses and leave.
Some Togolese men whose identities could not be established but who arrived with the man from the Togo Football Federation hurled abuses at officials of Enyimba, ordering them to 'shut up' their mouths and accept the place. One said they could sleep on the grass if they want, that they, the Togolese do not care.
Two staff of the Nigerian Embassy who visited the 'hotel' criticized the treatment by the Togolese and promised to report the matter to the Ambassador.
Felix Anyansi Agwu, in the company of the Nigerian Embassy officials finally took the team back into central Lome, where they finally had dinner and were lodged in a more decent place.
Nigeria Football Federation representatives that arrived with the team have informed CAF of the actions of Anges de Notse and the Togo Football Federation.