Ghanaian players were 'shaken to the core'

Ghana revealed they have been "shaken to the core" by Friday's terror attack on the Togo team in Angola. The Ghanaians were due to play Togo today in their opening game of the tournament, until the Hawks withdrew. "We were all saddened by the news when reports broke out on Friday. We had arrived a day before with no incidents and never expected such an attack," Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi said. "But when the Togolese described the moment of terror to us, we were really shaken to the core. Everyone was frightened and I must admit, we are gradually getting over it."

"We have sought assurances from the organisers and the government of Angola. "It's important for us to be able to lift the players from such a gloom that has engulfed the competition and one key area is the security that needs to be put in place. "The incident happened some 150km away from Cabinda but it's imperative that measures are put in place to forestall any future occurrence. "The safety of everyone is most important and we hope we can go through the competition without any setback. It's rather unfortunate that the African Cup of Nations has experienced such an incident."

Meanwhile, Australia assistant coach Graham Arnold had planned to be in Angola to watch Togo play World Cup opponents Ghana, but did not go because of safety concerns. "We just felt it wasn't safe, but it's horrible to be proven right," said John Boultbee, the Australian FA's head of national teams. "Initially, we had plans for Graham to attend Togo's game against Ghana because Ghana are in our pool at the World Cup, but when we had a closer look at it, we decided not to send him on security grounds.

"It was a game we felt was important to be at because Graham would have had the opportunity to assess Ghana at full strength and in a competitive tournament, but not at any cost." * With agencies