Eritrea’s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is in jeopardy after seven of the team’s ten locally-based players disappeared during a transit stop in South Africa. The group went missing following a 4-1 aggregate victory over Eswatini on March 31, a match that secured Eritrea a spot in the tournament's group-stage qualifiers.
A Confederation of African Football (CAF) official confirmed the players failed to board their connecting flight to Asmara. "We believe all the players left Eswatini for South Africa. But when the travelling party landed in Cairo, seven players were missing," the official told the AFP news agency.
A pattern of defections
The missing athletes include goalkeepers Kibrom Solomon and Awet Maharena, as well as defenders Wedeb Fessehaye, Yosief Tsegay, and Nahom Awet. Midfielder Medhane Redie and striker Amanuel Benhur were also among those who did not return home. Only three of the ten players based in Eritrea successfully completed the trip back to the country.
This incident mirrors a long history of Eritrean athletes seeking asylum while traveling abroad. According to United Nations estimates, approximately 80 Eritrean football players, coaches, and officials have defected over the past two decades. Analysts frequently cite the country's system of indefinite military service as the primary catalyst for these departures.
George Ghebreslassie, an Eritrean exile who works with refugee support groups, said the disappearances reflect deeper instability. "It shows the kind of situation we have in Eritrea. We thought things would change, but nothing has changed," Ghebreslassie told Reuters.
Eritrea had only recently resumed international competition after a years-long hiatus. The team had not played an official match since 2007 until their recent preliminary tie against Eswatini. The squad featured a mix of locally-based players and 14 others recruited from leagues in England, Germany, Australia, and across Europe.
Before the 2019 season, the Eritrean government had barred national teams from traveling abroad after repeated incidents of players fleeing. The country’s football federation recently attempted to improve its standing in regional sports governance, with president Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam elected to lead the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations in February.
These recent defections now threaten to derail the team's progress. With the group-stage qualifiers scheduled to begin in September, the federation faces significant pressure to account for its missing roster members and retain its standing in the continental competition.
