Eritrea players disappear in South Africa after winning AFCON qualifier
· Citizen
Only three of 10 local footballers in an Eritrea squad returned home after a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, a Confederation of African Football (CAF) official told AFP on Wednesday.
The other seven are believed to have disappeared when the national team arrived in South Africa en route from Eswatini to Eritrea via Egypt, said the official, who requested anonymity.
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“This incident is a mystery. Eritrea beat Eswatini on March 31 in Lobamba and no one seems certain what happened thereafter,” he said.
“We believe all the players left Eswatini for South Africa. But when the travelling party landed in Cairo, seven players were missing.”
A member of the Eritrean community in South Africa told AFP he had seen several of the missing footballers in Johannesburg, but declined to give further details, citing safety concerns.
AFP understands the seven missing players include goalkeepers Kibrom Solomon and Awet Maharena and defenders Wedeb Fessehaye, Yosief Tsegay and Nahom Awet.
Veteran midfielder Medhane Redie and striker Amanuel Benhur were the other defectors, who have joined dozens of Eritrean footballers who abandoned national teams when in other African states.
Those who returned to Asmara were captain Ablelom Teklezghi, fellow midfielder Nahom Tadese and striker Romel Abdu.
The United Nations estimates about 80 Eritreans involved in football, including players, coaches and officials, have defected during the past 20 years.
Indefinite military service after completing schooling is cited as the main reason for the defections from the east African country.
Eritrea has been governed by President Isaias Afwerki since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and human rights groups consistently describe his rule as “highly repressive”.
During a state visit to Kenya three years ago, Afwerki said such allegations were “fantasy”.
Recently appointed Eritrea coach Hesham Yakan, a defender in the Egypt 1990 World Cup squad, chose 24 players, including 14 based abroad, for the two-leg preliminary qualifier against Eswatini.
His selection included Eritreans based in Australia, Egypt, England, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines and Sweden.
Ali Suleiman from Egyptian top-flight side Ismailia Electricity Club scored three goals as Eritrea won 2-0 and 2-1 to qualify for the main qualifying phase, which will comprise 12 four-team groups.
The first leg against Eswatini was staged in Moroccan city Meknes because Eritrea does not have an international-standard stadium.
It was the first Cup of Nations match involving Eritrea since 2007. Subsequently, they competed in three World Cup qualifying competitions and also several regional tournaments.
During trips outside the country, players from both Eritrean senior and under-age national teams regularly disappeared and sought asylum.