13 Red sea players go missing

By Majuto Omary

The Citizen Reporter

 

 

Dar es Salaam. The Cecafa-organised competitions are always fascinating events as they constantly supply moments of drama, brilliance and absurdity as the council has no idea of the whereabouts of 13 members of Red Sea of Eritrea.

They literally disappeared shortly after their quarter-final match of the just concluded Kagame Castle Cup, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) confirmed yesterday.

TFF secretary general Angetile Osiah admitted that they are also in the dark as to where the Eritrea team players could be. Osiah said the Red Sea members failed to return to Eritrea with the rest of the squad and might be seeking asylum in one of the East and Central African countries. “We have informed the immigration authorities about the matter, we are optimistic they will arrest them, it’s very disappointing,” he said. 

They are among the 25 members of the Eritrea squad who were in the country to compete in this year’s Kagame Castle Cup, which came to an end on Sunday at the National Stadium.

The TFF official said the players did not return to Lunch Time Hotel, Ubungo where they were booked after their final group stage match last week.There have been no reports or statements from the neighbouring countries about the whereabouts of them so far.

 

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By MAJUTO OMARY The Citizen, in Dar es Salaam

Posted  Monday, July 11 2011 at 18:48

Thirteen members of Eritrean football club Red Sea’s contingent defected in Dar es Salaam on Monday, hours after the conclusion of the Cecafa Kagame Castle Cup in which the team competed.

Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) secretary, Angetile Osiah, said the Eritreans had been booked to stay at the Lunch Time Hotel located at the Ubungo area of Dar es Salaam but went missing.

He said Red Sea’s head of delegation has informed the organisers about the disappearance of the 13.

Osiah said that the Tanzania Immigration Department has also been informed about the issue and has launched a manhunt for the players whose named would not be released immediately on Monday.

Incident “unfortunate”

The TFF official termed the incident as “unfortunate.” “We have informed the immigration authorities about the matter, and we are sure that they will act. We are very sorry about that,” said Osiah.

He said the Eritrean team comprised 25 people and that the rest of the squad had left for Asmara.

The Cecafa Kagame Castle Cup ended on Sunday with home team Yanga defeating compatriots Simba 1-0 in the final.

Incidences of player defection during tournaments is nothing new.

At the 2009 Copa Coca-Cola under-17 football tournament that preceded the Fifa Confederation Cup in Pretoria, six players from the Ethiopian Copa team defected.

But they later gave in to the South African authorities following tip-offs from their relatives and team-mates.

 

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Eritrean footballers go missing (again)

Half of Red Sea FC squad fail to turn up for their flight after being knocked-out of a regional tournament in Tanzania, 18-months after a dozen members of the Eritrea national team dissapeared during a competition in Kenya

Tristan McConnellJuly 12, 2011 07:12


Want to escape your repressive government? Join a football team, travel the world, don’t come back.

In 2009 the Eritrea national side came to Kenya for a regional tournament and, after playing a decent game but being knocked out in the quarter-finals, a dozen squad members absconded.

This weekend it was the turn of half the squad of Eritrean club side Red Sea FC who failed to turn up for their flight out of Dar es Salaam after being defeated in the semi-finals of a regional competition.

“Thirteen out of 26 players of the Eritrean team have disappeared,” said Angentile Osiah, secretary general of the Tanzania Football Federation. “We have reported the matter to relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation.”

Osiah said the players who did turn up for the flight out helped their disappearing team mates by getting passports stamped and the absence of half the squad was only noticed when a headcount was taken.

Red Sea FC is the country’s leading team with seven premiership titles since the league was inaugurated in 1994 but it has lost players before. In 2006 four players made off while playing in Kenya. The same year eight members of the national side also ran away from another regional tournament.

Eritrean footballers have absconded from tournaments in the past. In 2006 eight members of the national side and another four from the same Red Sea FC made their escape while playing in regional tournaments.

Eritrea is one of the world’s leading sources of asylum seekers with many tens of thousands escaping Isaias Afwerke’s oppressive regime every year. Playing sports is one of the only ways to avoid military conscription and to travel outside the country.

To combat sports-related defections Eritrea’s government to begin charging all travelling athletes a $6,700 deposit which is only returned if they do.

 

(Source: globalpost.com)

 

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