It remains to be seen whether the Togolese national team will use the 2013 Africa Nations Cup (Afcon) to break their record of an early exit in the continental showpiece.
The Sparrow Hawks have never advanced past the group stages of the Afcon tournament. Chances are slim for the Togolese team to change the situation as they have been drawn in Group D, which is considered to be the "group of death" alongside Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Algeria.
However, the good news is the Togolese will come to South Africa with their top striker, Emmanuel Adebayor after the Togolese Football Federation (TFF) has finally resolved their row over unpaid bonuses with the Tottenham striker.
The Togolese Afcon experience is also painful. Prior to the kick-off of the 2010 Afcon tournament in Angola, their team bus suffered a fatal attack, three team members were killed while several others sustained injuries.
The separatist group Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) claimed responsibility for the attack.
As a result, they withdrew and this led the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to ban Togo from participating in the next two editions of the Cup of Nations.
They were further fined $50,000 because of the "decision taken by the political authorities"
Meanwhile, after a 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier away to Sierra Leone on 3 June 2007, 20 members of a delegation of sports officials from Togo, including Togolese Sports Minister Richard Attipoe, were killed when their helicopter exploded and crashed at Lungi International Airport.
However, no players were among the victims. The Togo players and officials of the team had been waiting to take the next helicopter flight to the island on which the airport is located.
