Eritrea withdrew from FIFA World Cup qualifying for fear of players escaping – Kommersant

The Eritrean Football Federation (ENFF) has withdrawn the national team from qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup due to concerns that players will seek political asylum abroad, reports The Guardian citing sources close to the team.

On November 10, the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced in a joint statement that all matches of the Eritrea national team as part of the qualification for the 2026 World Cup have been cancelled. In a few days, Eritrea was scheduled to play its first qualifying match against Morocco. The reasons for the team’s withdrawal were not reported.

According to the publication, some ENFF members tried to convince the Eritrean Ministry of Sports and Culture to allow the team to participate in the qualifying matches, but the head of the department, Zemede Tekle, refused to allow them to do so. One of The Guardian’s interlocutors said that it is difficult for the national team players to protest the federation’s decision, because they could be sent to prison for this.

According to the Guardian, since 2009, more than 60 footballers have used their status to seek asylum. The latest case involves the escape of five female football players hours before a game against Uganda in the Union of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) Women’s Championship in November 2021. The last match of the Eritrean men’s team was a friendly match with the Sudan team, which took place in September 2020 and ended in a 1:0 victory for the latter.

According to report According to Human Rights Watch 2022, the Eritrean government is repressing the population, imposing restrictions on freedom of speech, belief and religion, and impeding independent verification by international observers. Since 1993, when Eritrea gained independence, the country has never held an election. Since then, Isaias Afewerki has been the country’s president.

Erdni Kagaltynov