Toronto – Eritrea beat The Kingdom of Eswatini 4 to 1 in a qualifying match of the African Cup of Nations. But seven of the Eritrean players failed to return to Eritrea.

Eritrea reached the qualifying match stage for the first time in 18 years.  The first leg of the match was supposed to be in Asmara, Eritrea. However, it was not held in Eritrea due to CAF pitch quality requirements. 

Eritrean players are seeking asylum in South Africa, according to a BBC Amharic report.   Only 10 of the national team players were from Eritrea and the remaining were selected from Eritreans in the Diaspora. 

The players who returned to Eritrea were. Ablelom Teklezgi, Henok Tadesse and Romel Abdu are confirmed to be back in Eritrea, according to the source.

Goalkeeper Kibrom Solomon and winger Robel Redi are among those who decided to pursue asylum seeking in South Africa. 

The Eritrean Football Federation has not confirmed the story of seven players who failed to return back to Eritrea. BBC Amharic said it contacted the Federation but there was no response. 

Public celebration is a customary practice in Eritrea whenever national team players return to the country with victory. 

The source claimed that it has contacted sources in Asmara who said there was no celebration of the win over Eswatini.  Also, it is reported that the family of one of the players confirmed to BBC Amharic that her brother is in South Africa. 

Disappearance of Eritrean National Team players has been a recurring problem.  In 2024, Eritrea ditched a scheduled game with Ethiopia for the CHAN2024 qualifier. 

There have been allegations of human rights abuse by the Eritrean government particularly in connection with what critics describe as “indefinite national military service.”  

With only less than five million population, Eritrea has a considerably large diaspora community.

Borkena April 7, 2026