African football icon Emmanuel Adebayor has opened up about the time he was almost gunned down on his way to the Africa Cup of Nations.
In 2010, Adebayor and the Togo national team endured a near-death experience, which left one member of their delegation fatally wounded.
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The tragic incident took place ahead of the 2010 AFCON in Angola, where Adebayor explained that he thought he was on the brink of dying.
Dreading that he might be next after one of his colleagues was shot dead, the former Arsenal star called his pregnant partner to tell her what he thought would be his final words.
"'Listen, if the baby is a boy, name him Junior Emmanuel. If she's a little girl, make sure you name her Princess Emmanuella'," said Adebayor, according to BBC Sport Africa.
"She [replied] 'Why? Why? Why are you telling me this??'
"Then they started shooting again, and I had to throw the phone somewhere."
Fifteen years on, that attack on 8 January 2010 is still fresh in the former striker's memory.
"Since that day, something changed in me," the ex-Real Madrid striker added.
"I started telling myself: 'You have to embrace and enjoy every single moment as if it is the last one, because you never know when that is'.
"Cabinda made a huge difference in my life."
According to France24, those responsible for the attack were a military group fighting for the independence of the Cabinda province in Angola.
The military group later admitted that the Togolese national team bus was attacked by mistake, as they were not the intended targets.
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By Lukhanyo Mtuta
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