INJURED Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale says he is to receive US$25,000 from Fifa after being shot during January’s Nations Cup finals in Angola.

Obilale, 25, is still unable to walk eight months after the machine-gun attack by separatist rebels on the Togolese bus as it entered Angola.

Two members of the Togolese delegation were killed, while the reserve goalkeeper was shot twice in the back.
"It’s kind,” said Obilale, after receiving a letter from Sepp Blatter.

Frustrated at the lack of assistance from the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and Angolan organisers, Obilale wrote to Fifa president Blatter in August requesting assistance.

"We will continue to study this dossier,” Blatter wrote, before adding "I wish you a lot of courage.”

Obilale, who undergoes intensive physiotherapy on a daily basis, was further boosted when also receiving funds from a different source.

A payment of US$70,000 promised by Togo’s sports ministry last month finally arrived in Obilale’s account this week.

The goalkeeper says the money will only be able to cover three of his seven months of hospital bills. He intends to send the rest of the bill to authorities in Togo to cover.

Agencies