Togo African Nations ban lifted

A ban preventing Togo from competing at the next two African Nations Cups was officially lifted today.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) today confirmed that the sanctions, which were imposed on the country after they withdrew from the 2010 tournament in Angola earlier this year, would no longer stand.

The decision came after a meeting by CAF's Executive Committee in Cairo this morning, where president Issa Hayatou was to have made the request following a mediation hearing with FIFA head Sepp Blatter last week.

"The Executive Committee of the African Confederation of Football, in its meeting held in Cairo on Friday May 14, at the request of President Issa Hayatou decided to lift the suspension preventing Togo from playing in the two upcoming African Nations Cups," read a statement on www.cafonline.com.

"Following the lifting of the sanction, Togo is now reintegrated in the preliminaries of the African Nations Cup 2012."

Togo withdrew from the 2010 competition in January following a terrorist attack on their team bus in the Cabinda enclave of Angola which left three people dead.

The decision prompted an angry reaction from CAF, who then immediately banned them from the next two events in 2012 and 2014.

The Togolese football federation (FTF) filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in February requesting the annulment of the decision.

A settlement was eventually reached last Friday in Zurich following a sitting between the two, overseen by Blatter. As part of the agreement, the FTF agreed it did not comply with CAF competition regulations over their withdrawal in Angola.

The statement added: "The Togolese delegation officially recognised its forfeit from the 27th edition of the African Cup of Nations as not having been legitimate and having been an infraction to the CAF regulations.

"The Togolese federation understands the fact that CAF applied the sanction it did for the non respect by the Togolese federation for the regular procedure necessary to withdraw from the competition.

"Having taken the floor before the members of the Executive Committee, President Hayatou reminded the Committee of the fact that CAF is always there to guarantee that respect for the laws and the regulations established by its institution at all times and in all circumstances, including the most painful ones.

"It was CAF's duty to impose such respect."

The amended fixtures for the 2012 qualifiers are expected to be announced later today.