US EditionPlayer Disappearances Cast Cloud over Eritrea Future Participation
Coach Hesham Yakan said 7 locally based players vanished after the 4-1 aggregate win, putting Eritrea’s Cup of Nations qualifying campaign in doubt.
- Seven Eritrean football players disappeared following their 4-1 aggregate victory over Eswatini on March 31, jeopardizing the nation's participation in the Africa Cup of Nations group-stage qualifiers.
- Coach Hesham Yakan confirmed the defections on Tuesday, revealing a decades-long pattern where approximately 80 Eritrean footballers and officials have sought asylum abroad during the past 20 years.
- The seven missing players include goalkeepers Kibrom Solomon and Awet Maharena, defenders Wedeb Fessehaye, Yosief Tsegay, and Nahom Awet, plus midfielder Medhane Redie and striker Amanuel Benhur, leaving only three locally-based players to return.
- Minister of Information Yemane Gebremeskel declined to comment, while critics describe the defections as stemming from President Isaias Afwerki's "highly repressive" rule and mandatory indefinite military service.
- Participation in group-stage qualifiers scheduled between September and November remains uncertain for the squad that had just returned to international competition after a six-year hiatus.
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11 Articles
According to information from an official of the African Football Confederation wishing to keep his anonymity, seven Eritrean internationals are reported missing after having played a qualifying game in...
Human rights organizations have described the government in Asmara as extremely repressive, and many Eritrean athletes have disappeared after international competitions.
Seven Eritrean players are reported missing after having played in Lobamba (Eswatini) a game counting for the qualifying preliminaries at the 2027 African Cup of Nations, said Wednesday at the AFP an official of the African Football Confederation (CAF). "This incident is a mystery. Eritrea beat the Eswatini on March 31 in Lobamba and no one knows for sure what happened next," said the official under the cover of anonymity. "We think that all the…
Seven players from the Eritrean national team have disappeared in South Africa after playing a qualifying match for the 2027 African Cup of Nations against Eswatini. Eritrea formed a selection of 24 players to face Eswatini in the qualifying phase for AFCON, and of them only ten were local players from Eritrea. Of those ten, only three returned to their home country, as Al Jazeera reports. Players are believed to have defected while they were in…
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