Seven Eritrean National Team Players Vanish Following AFCON Qualifying Victory

"These players come from poverty. It was their first time on an airplane." This statement from an insider connected to Eritrea's national football team provides crucial context for the shocking events that unfolded after their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Eswatini on March 31.

Seven squad members — primarily substitutes — disappeared without a trace following the fixture. Head coach Hesham Yakan acknowledged the situation in a statement to Reuters, expressing doubt that any of these players will return to professional football.

"I don't believe they'll continue their football careers," Yakan stated. According to the coach, these athletes have likely departed in search of better economic prospects in more prosperous nations. Considering Eritrea's circumstances, such actions are hardly unexpected.

A nation with severe travel restrictions

This marks Eritrea's first participation in AFCON qualifying rounds since 2008. The country had imposed a complete ban on its national teams competing internationally — a direct consequence of multiple under-20 players seeking asylum in Uganda back in 2019. History has now repeated itself, though on a more significant scale at the senior international level.

The roster already featured players residing in Australia, Germany, Norway, and Sweden — diaspora athletes who returned to represent a homeland many had previously departed. Their opening leg took place in Morocco since Eritrea lacks a venue meeting CAF's standards for international competitions. Despite the circumstances, the team secured a commanding 4-1 aggregate victory. Shortly afterward, seven players vanished.

George Ghebreslassie, an Eritrean exile who operates a support network for Eritrean refugees, expressed little surprise at the development. "This occurs regularly," he explained. "It reflects the reality of life in Eritrea. We hoped for improvements, but nothing has evolved. Citizens have lost hope in their own homeland."

Implications for Eritrea's qualifying campaign

Eritrea's Information Minister refused to provide comment. The national football federation has remained silent. Yakan — a former Egyptian international who competed at the 1990 World Cup — now faces the challenge of managing a squad that unexpectedly lost multiple members.

The nation has remained under President Isaias Afwerki's leadership since gaining independence in 1993. International human rights organizations have repeatedly characterized his administration as among the continent's most oppressive regimes. This background doesn't make the players' disappearances surprising — it makes them predictable.

Eritrea successfully advanced from their qualifying group. Whether they can maintain squad stability through the tournament's next phase remains an unanswered question that federation officials appear unwilling to address publicly.