Seven Eritrean Players Vanish in South Africa After AFCON Qualifier
Seven Eritrea Players Go Missing in South Africa After Qualifier
It has happened again. Seven Eritrean footballers failed to return home after their team’s AFCON 2027 pre-qualifier victory over Eswatini in South Africa — the latest chapter in a grim pattern that has defined Eritrean football for nearly two decades.
Eritrea won 2-1 on the day and 4-1 on aggregate to advance. A welcome ceremony had been organised back home. Only three players made it — including captain Ablelom Teklezghi. Goalkeeper Kubrom Solomon and winger Medhanie Redie were among those spotted still in South Africa.
Of the 24-man squad, only 10 were based inside Eritrea to begin with.
The government has said nothing. “There has been silence,” the Eritrean Sport and Culture Commission spokesperson acknowledged, posting photos of a handful of returning players at a Cairo embassy stopover.
The history is long and painful. In 2009, an entire Eritrean squad failed to return from Kenya. In 2013, 15 players and the team doctor sought asylum in Uganda. Ten more vanished after a 2015 World Cup qualifier in Botswana. Seven under-20 players disappeared in Uganda in 2019.
The same story. A different South African city. And seven more who are not going back.