ACTUALITE |
23.09.2002
Teams still stranded in Ivory Coast
It could be another three days before the footballers trapped in a hotel in the beseiged Ivorian city of Bouake can go home.
The teams - Senegal, Sierra Leone and Gambia - were in the town to compete in the Wafu Nations Cup, when military mutineers took control on Thursday.
The teams were confined to their hotel and have not be allowed to leave for their own safety.
But the situation is worsening inside the hotel for the players and officials, with food and water now running critically low.
The teams have also raised concerns about their safety as the mutineers have been entering the hotel as they like.
Staff have been allowed to go home after their shifts but hotel officials are insisting the visiting footballers remain.
The Sierra Leone coach Sam Obi Metzger told BBC Sport Online that they were worried about the situation and want the Ivorian and Wafu authorites to help them return home as quickly as possible.
"My boys have lost concentration, all their focus now is to return back home safely," said Obi Metzger.
The coach of the Senegalese team, Mayacine Mar, has also expressed similar sentiments.
He told BBC Sport Online that his main priority was to return home.
Sang Ndong, the coach of the Gambina team, told BBC Sport Online that he was not happy about the cancellation of the Wafu Cup as he was looking forward to the competition.
"I was looking forward to it because I hoped it would have improved the standard of my team, but now that it has been cancelled we have to accept that.
"I think our priority now is for the authorities to help us get out of this situation as things are getting very difficult for us.
"We are now experiencing food shortages in the hotel and we also fear for our safety."
The West African Football Union, Wafu, said they were working out plans to get the teams to Abidjan, the Ivorian capital.
The Secretary General of Wafu Ake Malam told BBC Sport Online that they are in constant touch with the government authorities in Abidjan and were trying to exploit opportunities to take the team to the capital.
"The government has promised to take the teams to Abidjan as soon as they gain control of Bouake, " said Malam.
But it is unlikely that there will be any change in the current situation for at least two or three days.
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Hits: 1 | Source:BBC | |
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