Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
In an unexpected and rapidly unfolding situation, seven players from the Eritrea national football team have not returned home following their side’s historic triumph in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualification round, a result that secured Eritrea’s place in the tournament’s group stage for the first time in nearly two decades. The development, confirmed by multiple international media sources citing team insiders and independent reporting, has cast a complex shadow over what should have been a celebrated moment for Eritrean football.
Eritrea delivered a stirring 2‑1 away victory against Eswatini during the second leg of the qualification tie, culminating in a 4‑1 aggregate win and marking a breakthrough achievement for a national side that had been absent from the competition’s latter stages for 19 years. The win, which restored Eritrea’s presence on the continental stage, was widely welcomed by fans and football analysts alike.
However, as the team prepared to return home, reports emerged that seven of the squad’s domestically based players failed to board the flight back to Asmara, instead remaining in South Africa, where the delegation had stopped after the fixture in Eswatini’s Somhlolo National Stadium. Only three of the ten players drawn from Eritrea’s domestic league, including team captain Ablelom Teklezghi, Nahom Tadese, and Romel Abdu, were confirmed to have made the journey back to the capital.
While the exact status and location of the missing players has not been officially confirmed by football authorities or government sources, various reports suggest some may still be in South Africa and have intentionally avoided returning. Among those reported to be absent are goalkeeper Kubrom Solomon and experienced winger Medhanie Redie, names that have appeared in media coverage of the incident.
Eritrea’s state‑run media, which typically chronicles national team successes, has been notably quiet following the team’s return flight and the subsequent revelations. Sources indicate that preparations for a celebratory reception, which had been planned to honour the squad’s breakthrough performance, were cancelled once news of the missing players emerged. Eritrean embassy staff and members of the diaspora in Cairo, Egypt, were reported to have welcomed some returning players and staff during a transit stop, but the group was conspicuously incomplete.
This episode recalls a recurring pattern within Eritrean sport and particularly in football, where athletes have used international travel as an opportunity to flee their home country. Media accounts and historical records show multiple similar incidents dating back over a decade and a half. In 2019, for instance, members of the Eritrean under‑20 team disappeared in Uganda after playing in a regional championship. In 2015, ten senior players reportedly refused to return home after a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Botswana, and in 2013, 15 players and the team doctor were granted asylum in Uganda after absconding during a tournament. Reports also note that nearly the entire senior team failed to return from a trip to Kenya in 2009.
These patterns persist against a broader backdrop of socio‑political and human rights concerns surrounding Eritrea, a nation that has long faced international scrutiny for its governance model. Critics and rights groups characterise the state as highly repressive, pointing to compulsory, open‑ended national service, economic hardship, and strict limitations on personal freedoms as underlying factors driving Eritreans to seek asylum elsewhere. While the government strongly rejects these characterisations, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have left the country over the past decade, many through irregular and perilous migration routes.
The Eritrean Football Federation, for its part, has in previous years taken a cautious approach to international competition, reportedly withdrawing from major tournaments at times out of concern that players would disappear during overseas assignments. According to some reports, this fear has limited Eritrea’s participation in competitive matches, and the nation had not played a single competitive fixture abroad since 2019 until the recent AFCON qualifiers.
In the wake of this episode, stakeholders in African football and human rights advocacy are closely watching developments. The missing players’ decisions—whether to seek asylum, pursue opportunities abroad, or simply remain out of public view—will have implications not only for Eritrea’s preparations for the group stage of the AFCON qualifiers but also for broader discussions about the intersection of sport, migration, and political conditions. Critics have pointed to the repeated nature of such incidents as indicative of deeper structural issues within Eritrea that extend far beyond the realm of sport, while others emphasise the personal agency of athletes in choosing their own futures when presented with rare international mobility.
As of now, no official statement has been issued by the Eritrean Football Federation, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), or government authorities in Asmara regarding the whereabouts or status of the missing players. South African authorities have also not publicly confirmed any details regarding asylum claims, immigration proceedings, or the players’ current situations. The issue remains unresolved, with many football observers and Eritrean expatriates awaiting further updates.
The situation underscores a compelling and complex narrative where sporting achievements are intertwined with profound social and political realities, and where the fate of individual athletes may reflect broader currents of migration, aspiration, and struggle. Eritrea’s historic return to the AFCON qualifiers has been celebrated, yet the missing players’ choices have inevitably shifted the focus toward questions of freedom, opportunity, and the lived realities faced by citizens of one of Africa’s most tightly controlled states.
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