Togo Pay Row Sheds Light on Soccer's Darker Side

The chances for Togo in the World Cup have been rated as extremely slim, but the mere fact that this tiny sliver of a nation, a former French colony wedged between Ghana and Benin in western Africa, has even qualified for the World Cup is reason to cheer. In its first World Cup appearance ever, Togo's Eperviers, or Hawks, will be pitted against South Korea on Tuesday in Frankfurt.

As if being the clear underdog in a group that also includes France and Switzerland were not discouraging enough, the Eperviers temporarily lost their German coach at the eleventh hour when Otto Pfister walked out last Friday in a heated dispute with the Togo Soccer Federation (FTF) over payments and bonuses for the players, who had boycotted training sessions in protest.

Pfister, 68, who has spent decades training national teams across Africa and had led the Saudi Arabian team through the final qualifying rounds at the 1998 World Cup in France, announced his surprise comeback late Monday.

"The resignation was a principled decision," Pfister's son and advisor, Mike, said in an interview with reporters for the official FIFA Web site. "The return is a matter of the heart."

During the void over the weekend, the Togolese Soccer Federation (FTF) entered into discussions with another German trainer with ties to Africa, Winfried Schäfer, who was the Cameroon coach for the 2002 World Cup. Schäfer had given the FTF an ultimatum, agreeing to come on board only on the condition that the pay grievances be solved.

Greedy players?

The players have demanded 155,000 euros ($196,200) to play in the World Cup, with a bonus of 30,000 each per win and 15,000 euros for a draw, according Reuters. Togo's sports minister, Agouta Ouyenga, who was here in Germany for the games, told a radio station back home that a compromise had not been reached.

The demands didn't sit well with Togolese, who -- on average -- have an annual income of barely $1,700. Critics of the team's demands say the players are too greedy. The honor of playing for one's national team in the greatest sporting event on earth should be enough.

But others have identified different culprits.

"Pride in playing for one's national team is one thing, but these are professional players, who need to be fairly paid," said Harald Ganns, a high-ranking German diplomat, who spent nearly 20 years serving in several African nations, including Togo, and moonlighted as assistant coach to the national team in Lome back in the 1960s.

Disputes over financial compensation not unusual

"The problem lies not with the players, but with soccer federations and agents," he added. "Pay disputes are nothing unusual in Africa. When it comes to money changing hands, there is no control over the finances. The money disappears, and the players even wind up not getting paid at all, so guarantees need to be spelled out before the ball gets rolling."

But Ganns also said that the acute poverty faced by many African nations is a problem.

"The stadiums are way underdeveloped and youth teams even have difficulty in acquiring enough balls," he said.

Still, world class African teams, such as Cameroon and Senegal, which have made it to the quarter-finals in previous World Cups, have emerged in the past few decades.

The Togo team will be relying on its star striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, who plays for London's FC Arsenal. Most of the other team members are inexperienced though, and play in lower divisions of the European leagues.

Togo's loyal German fans

But no matter what happens, the team will be able to rely on a dedicated group of fans that have gathered in Germany.

"The outcome of the match against Korea will be crucial," said Sven Klein, co-founder of the German-Togolese soccer fan club, which now claims to have over 1,000 members. "We stand 100 percent behind Togo, whatever happens."

The fans are drawing on the inspiration from the Ivory Coast-Argentina match last Saturday. Though the African nation lost the 2-1 match, its single goal against heavyweight Argentina, was a triumph in the "Group of Death" that also includes Serbia and Montenegro and the Netherlands.