Seven Eritrean players flee after AFCON qualifier, says coach

Seven Eritrean footballers have disappeared after the national team’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying win over Eswatini last week, coach Hesham Yakan and an activist for Eritreans in exile said.

Eritrea returned to AFCON qualifiers this year for the first time since the 2008 campaign, having previously barred its teams from travelling abroad after several players from its under-20 side fled to Uganda in 2019.

“Most of them are substitute players,” Yakan told Reuters. The players have been missing since the second leg of the tie on March 31, and the coach said he believed they would try to find economic opportunities in wealthier countries.

“I do not think they will continue playing football,” said Yakan, a former Egypt defender who featured at the 1990 World Cup.

Eritrea won the first leg 2-0 in Morocco, where the match was played because the country does not have a stadium that meets Confederation of African Football requirements for international fixtures.

Eritrea, whose line-up included several players based at clubs in Australia, Germany, Norway and Sweden, completed a 4-1 aggregate victory with a 2-1 win at Eswatini’s Somhlolo National Stadium on March 31.

George Ghebreslassie, an Eritrean exile who runs a non-profit organisation supporting Eritrean refugees, also confirmed that the players had left.

“It happens quite a lot,” said Ghebreslassie, who left Eritrea in 1999.

“It shows the kind of situation we have in Eritrea. We thought things would change, but nothing has changed. People have become hopeless in their own country.”

Winning start for Hesham Yakan as Eritrea defeat Eswatini 2–0 in AFCON 2027 Qualifiers 👏🇪🇷 https://t.co/R8mbOiDNFG — KingFut.com (@King_Fut) March 25, 2026

Eritrea’s Minister of Information Yemane Gebremeskel declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. A spokesperson for the Eritrean National Football Federation did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

“These players are poor. It was their first time flying,” a source close to the team said. “This is about looking for work and improving their income.”

Eritrea has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since independence in 1993, and human rights groups have repeatedly described his government as repressive.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.