Association Sportive de la Kozah (ASKO) de Kara have been crowned Togo’s new champions. The Kara big boys defeated city rivals, Association Sportive des Conducteurs (ASC) de Kara on Sunday. After a one-all draw, the match was decided on penalties.
ASC de Kara grabbed the lead in the 35th minute via Tchatakora Sémiou before ASKO de Kara scored a late equalizer in the 85th minute to force the match into extra time and then penalties.
“I feel very happy because the match is never won in advance” Tchakei Marouf, ASKO de Kara’s captain, said.
“The championship was like a marathon, so it was not easy” an elated Marouf added.
Indeed, with two matches each week, the tournament ran like a marathon. The tournament had to be arranged in three months rather than nine due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Respect for covid protection measures in stadiums was one of the primary criteria set by health authorities in order to enable the tournament to be staged.
“We have done a lot of COVID tests. We had about twenty positive cases for the whole championship. As of today, we have no more positive cases. It was well managed. The teams behaved very well in terms of COVID prevention” Dr Kouvahey Damien, head of the Medical Commission of the Togolese Football Federation
All matches were played behind closed doors with the exception of the final. 2000 spectators were permitted in the stadium to the satisfaction of everyone.
Togo’s Minister of Sports Bessi Kama Lidi applauded the organization of the championship.
“We saw the players who were vaccinated, who observed the barrier measures from the beginning to the end of this championship. And I say bravo to them” Lidi said.
With the championship’s success, Togo now faces another challenge of organizing African club competitions, since the championship’s two finalists will represent the nation in the African Champions League and Confederation Cup respectively.
