Afcon 2017: Adebayor to lead Togo in Gabon

By Sampson Adedeji

Unattached Emmanuel Adebayor leads the cast in Togo's final 23-man squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Adebayor, 32, a free agent since his contract expired with Crystal Palace last summer, will be making his fifth appearance at the tournament.

Veteran goalkeeper Kossi Agassa, 38, is another player currently without a club named in the squad for Gabon. But coach Claude LeRoy has left out Nigeria-based Joseph Douhadji and Victor Nukafu. Fulham midfielder Floyd Ayite was included as was another Europe-based forward Ihlas Bebou of German Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf.

LeRoy, who guided Cameroon to the 1988 Nations Cup title and has only failed to reach the quarter-finals once, has also included three players from the domestic league. Togo reached the quarter-finals for the first time in the 2013 edition in South Africa but failed to qualify for the last tournament in Equatorial Guinea. The Sparrow Hawks will kick off the tournament against

defending champions Ivory Coast on 16 January, before facing Group C rivals Morocco and DR Congo. The tournament runs from 14 January to 5 February.

Togo squad:
Goalkeepers: Kossi Agassa (Unattached), Baba Tchagouni (FC

Marmande, France), Cédric Mensah (Le Mans, France)

Defenders: Serge Akakpo (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Sadate Ouro- Akoriko (Al Khaleej, Saudi Arabia), Djene Dakonam (Sint-Truidense, Belgium), Gafar Mamah (Dacia, Moldova), Maklibè Kouloun (Dyto), Hakim Ouro-Sama (AS Togo-Port), Vincent Bossou (Young Africans, Tanzania)

Midfielders: Alaixys Romao (Olympiacos, Greece), Matthieu

Dossevi (Standard Liège, Belgium), Floyd Ayité (Fulham, England), Henritsè Eninful (Doxa Katokopias, Cyprus), Lalawele Atakora (Helsingborgs, Sweden), Prince Segbefia (Goztepe,

Turkey), Ihlas Bebou (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Franco

Atchou (Dyto), Serge Gakpe (Genoa, Italy)
Forwards: Emmanuel Adebayor (unattached), Fo Doh Laba (Berkane, Morocco), Komlan Agbeniadan (WAFA, Ghana), Razak Boukari (Chateauroux, France)