a statement from the confederation of african football

[check against delivery]

Good morning.

After the events of the 8th January this year, when a team bus on the way to a game was attacked by armed gunmen, we at CAF have decided that action needs to be taken to prevent a recurrence in future tournaments. To that end we have banned Togo from the competition for two years and fined them the sum of fifty thousand US dollars.

This swift and decisive action on our part will reduce the possibility of further terrorist ambushes on teams coming to play in the finals. Violent criminals will soon realise that we will not allow them to murder players under our protection without there being consequences. Should another team be attacked then they will face a 5 year exclusion from the competition and their association will have a $500,000 fine imposed.

The Confederation of African Football would also like to take this opportunity to remind local associations that under no circumstances may dead players be fielded, or named on the bench, for any competitive games that fall within our jurisdiction.

Does anyone have any questions?