AN investigation has been launched after a fake Togo squad played a friendly international match against Bahrain.

The game, won 3-0 by Bahrain, even appeared on FIFA’s website, but the Togolese football federation said the players who had faced the Bahraini national team were not from Togo.

According to reports, a fake footballer’s agent sold the match to Bahrain, who are preparing for the Asian championships.

But the poor performance of squad during the friendly had stunned members of the Bahraini Football Association (BFA), who only found out the truth after the game.

“The very bad game of the ‘Togolese’ players surprised us, but then to discover that we had been dealing with a fake team was incredible,” said a member of the BFA.

Togo’s Sports Minister Christophe Tchao told Jeune Afrique that nobody back home was aware of the encounter.

“We will conduct investigations to uncover all those involved in this case,” he said.