Seven players from the Eritrean national football team have disappeared after helping their team qualify for the group stage of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The number of players who did not return to their home country after the second leg of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifiers in South Africa—where Eritrea clinched a 2-1 victory over Eswatini—stands at seven.
The players who have disappeared include Kubrom Solomon (goalkeeper), Awet Maharena (caretaker), Yosief Tsegay (defender)
Nahom Awet (defender), Weded Fessehaye (defender), Redie Medhanie (middle) and Benhur Amanuel (forward)
Only three local players have returned to Asmara, including the captain (and striker in the first leg), Ablelom Teklezgi, starting midfielder Nahom Tadese and replacement Romel Abdu
The reasons behind the disappearance of the seven players remain unclear, reports say some of them have been seen in South Africa.
This is not the first time the “Red Sea Boys” have faced such a situation. Since 2006, several players from the national team of this East African nation have failed to return home after overseas assignments.
In 2019, seven players from the Eritrean under-20 side went missing after playing in the East African regional championship in Uganda.
In 2015, 10 senior squad players refused to return home after playing a World Cup qualifying match in Botswana.
Two years earlier, 15 players and the team doctor were granted asylum in Uganda after they absconded.
And in 2009 the entire senior team, apart from the coach and an official, failed to return home from Kenya.