Mbabane – Seven players and officials from an Eritrean football team that played in Eswatini last month are still in the kingdom and seeking asylum, police and officials told AFP Sunday.
Several members of the 24-member squad are believed to have absconded in mysterious circumstances after beating Eswatini in a March 31 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Only three of 10 locally based players arrived back in Eritrea after they were due to return home via South Africa and Egypt, a Confederation of African Football (CAF) official told AFP this week.
Seven members of the team were in Eswatini, several sources told AFP in the small kingdom wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.
“The police are aware of the presence of three players and four officials from Eritrea,” deputy police communication officer Nosipho Mnguni told AFP.
They had reported to the Lobamba police station after the match. “Reporting to the police is the first step of any person seeking asylum,” Mnguni said.
The office of the Commissioner of Refugees had received written applications for asylum from seven Eritrean nationals, an official there said on condition of anonymity.
An Eswatini Football Association (EFA) official said the seven were being accommodated at a sports facility in Lobamba, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) outside the capital, Mbabane.
Some were being assisted by relatives also applying for asylum, the person said on condition of anonymity.
A journalist who covered the match said players had told him they did not intend to return home because they wanted to avoid conscription.
“They told me clearly that they are not going back,” the journalist said, also speaking anonymously. “Their biggest fear is being forced into military service.”
“They have submitted their asylum requests and are waiting for the process to unfold.”
Eritrea has long faced criticism from human rights organisations over its system of indefinite national service, which has prompted many citizens to flee.
The United Nations estimates about 80 Eritreans involved in football, including players, coaches and officials, have defected from the east African country during the past 20 years.
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Source: AFP
