7 Eritrean players go missing following 2027 AFCON qualifier win over Eswatini

Seven members of the Eritrean national football team, who achieved a historic 2-1 victory in Eswatini last week, have reportedly failed to return home.

While some teammates flew back from South Africa, these seven players are said to have absconded.

In recent years, Eritreans competing in international sports have occasionally not returned home, a trend rights groups link to the repressive political climate in Asmara, a claim the government denies.

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Despite Eritrea’s small population, hundreds of thousands have sought asylum abroad, according to BBC reports.

The absence of these players is a setback for the squad, which was celebrating a return to the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying group stage for the first time in 19 years, following a 4-1 aggregate win over Eswatini.

Of the 24-man squad, only 10 were based in Eritrea, and just three, including team captain Ablelom Teklezghi, have returned.

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Some of the missing players, including goalkeeper Kubrom Solomon and veteran winger Medhanie Redie, have reportedly been spotted in South Africa.

State-owned Eritrean media have been unusually quiet about the team’s return, in stark contrast to past homecomings, which were typically celebrated with significant fanfare.

Over the past two decades, Eritrean national teams at various levels have been repeatedly affected by incidents in which players or in some cases nearly entire squads have gone missing either before or after international matches.

In 2019, seven members of the Eritrean under-20 team disappeared following the East African regional championship in Uganda.

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In 2015, 10 senior squad players refused to return home after a World Cup qualifying match in Botswana.Two years prior, 15 players and the team doctor were granted asylum in Uganda after absconding.

Similarly, in 2009, the entire senior national team, except for the coach and one official, failed to return home following a trip to Kenya.