Five Eritrean women’s U20 players go missing in Uganda

Five Eritrean footballers from the women’s Under-20 national team have gone missing during a regional tournament in Uganda.

The players disappeared from their hotel in Jinja on Tuesday morning.

The quintet were part of the Eritrea squad for the Cecafa Women’s Under-20 Championship, which began on Saturday and runs until 9 November in nearby Njeru.

This is the second time in two years that Eritreans have gone missing from a Cecafa Under-20 Championship in Uganda, after five male players fled their hotel in the country in 2019.

A statement from Cecafa (the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations) said the matter had been reported to police and investigations are ongoing.

This incident follows a long list of Eritrean footballers escaping while on international duty abroad.

Seven men’s players went missing in Uganda in December 2019 during another Cecafa tournament.

Ten Eritrean players refused to return home from a World Cup qualifier in Botswana in 2015, while Uganda granted asylum to 15 players and a team doctor in 2013.

Back in 2009, the entire team – apart from the coach and an official – failed to return from a Cecafa tournament in Kenya.

Human rights group Amnesty International says thousands of Eritreans continue to flee the east African country while authorities violate the rights to freedom of expression, religion and freedom of movement.

The Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations in the past, and said that the reported numbers of those fleeing are fabricated.