By Andrew Warshaw
December 4 – As many as 18 Eritrean players are understood to be considering seeking asylum in Uganda after disappearing while playing in a regional tournament.
Eritrea were taking part in the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) competition, losing 2-0 to Rwanda which eliminated them after a goalless draw with Zanzibar and a 3-2 defeat by Malawi.
That meant an early flight back to the Eritrean capital Asmara but a majority of the players went missing in Kampala, leaving behind coach Negash Teklit and assistant coach Berhane Breta in the hotel just as the local organising committee came to pick and take them to Entebbe Airport.
Human rights bodies have cited Eritrea as one of the world’s most repressive regimes and this is not the first time its footballers have opted not to return home.
In July last year 13 members of an Eritrean club sought asylum in Tanzania, while 12 members of the national squad disappeared in Kenya in 2009 after competing in a regional tournament.
Rogers Mulindwa, a spokesman for the Federation of Ugandan Football Associations (FUFA), told Reuters the current group of players had not been seen since early Sunday (December 2), while police spokesman Ibn Sekundi put the number of missing players at 18 but said the team’s management had insisted they were simply “checking on relatives”.
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