I don't recall hearing that much about Togo before they qualified for the FIFA World Cup this year, as football is concerned of course.


Well, actually, I didn't hear about them as a country at all. But that's something the players of Togo are willing to change in the near future. Not only by participating in the German competition, but by making the most unusual requests.

One of them refers to their salary while playing in Germany. The Togo players - maybe realizing that a chance of a World Cup opportunity will not come that often in the near future - are asking the Football Federation back home the sum of … 155.000 dollars/each. And that's only for participating, not for future performances, like reaching the playoff stages.

The sum may seem ridiculous to a lot of football experts. First, because it is only 85.000 dollars short of how much the French players will earn if conquering the World Cup… Most of the countries offer this kind of salaries for great performances, not just for playing in the competition. Second, Togo is not really a 'financier heaven', if you know what I mean. And that is the main reason why the Football Federation's officials are pretty angry with the whole thing.

"Their requests are way too exaggerate for out poor and small country", said Rock Gnassingbe, the president of Togo. He was backed-up by the Togo fans who are angry and disappointed that this happens again. Yes, that's right. The footballers had previous such requests, before the African Cup started in January. The Federation acted the same then, not giving them any money. The result? No victories for Togo in the competition.

Still, it is very unlikely that Togo will manage a point or two in their Group G. Their opponents are much better teams, starting with France and ending with Switzerland and South Korea.