Memene said the federation did not know the players that claimed to represent Togo. He told the Associated Press: "We cannot send our players to play friendly matches abroad without the approval of FIFA. The players that took part in the friendly match against Bahrain were completely fake. We have not sent any team of footballers to Bahrain. The players are not known to us."
Under FIFA rules, national teams are free to arrange their own exhibitions, however FIFA collects a fee from match revenues and requires that exhibitions between teams from different continents be arranged by officially- licensed match agents.
The Bahrain Football Association said the game had been arranged under all the usual official procedures and through an agent they had known for several years. However local media reported that the game had been "sold" to the BFA by a "fake agent."
Bahrain's head coach, Josef Hickersberger, told the Gulf Daily News the match had been a wasted opportunity for the team to practice before the West African championships : "They were not fit enough to play 90 minutes - the match was very boring," he said.
