Seven players from the Eritrean national team have disappeared in South Africa after they played a qualifying match for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 against Eswatini. Eritrea made a 24-player squad to face Eswatini in the AFCON qualifying, and of those only ten were local players from Eritrea. Of those ten, only three returned to their home country, as Al Jazeera reports.
It is believed that the players defected while they were en route in South Africa from Eswatini (a small country within the borders of South Africa). United Nations estimates that about 80 Eritreans players, coaches, or officials, have defected over the past 20 years when traveling abroad to play football matches.
Eritrea, a small country in East Africa, bordering with Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, and the Red Sea, is one of the least developed countries in the world and with one of the worst human rights records in the world, and has been ruled by Isaias Afwerki since 1993, when it became independent from Ethiopia.
Eritrea beats Ewatini 4-1 and reach the group stage of the AFCON qualifiers
Eritrea, ranked 184th (out of 211) in the FIFA ranking, defeated Eswatini 4-1 in the two-legged knockout, and secured a spot in the group stage for the AFCON 2027 edition. 14 of the 24-player squad were players based abroad, in Australia, Egypt, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, and Sweden. Ali Suleiman, who plays in the Egyptian club Ismailia Electricity Club, scored three of the four goals for Eritrea, who places their home matches in Morocco as they don't have an international-standard stadium.