December 30 – Seven players from Eritrea’s national football team disappeared following the end of the Cecafa Cup in Uganda earlier this month, according to tournament spokesman Rogers Mulindwa. Police continue their search for the players.
The players defected after the end of the Cecafa Cup, a regional tournament for East-African nations. This year hosts Uganda triumphed after defeating the Eritreans, the surprise package of the competition, in the final 3-0. The rest of the team returned home.
It is not the first time that Eritrean players have gone missing. Last October, five Eritrean players disappeared from their hotel during another the U-20 Cecafa Cup in Uganda as well. In 2012 ,14 members of the Eritrea squad soccer defected during the senior tournament.
President Isaias Afwerki has ruled Eritrea since its independence with an iron first. Human rights groups described the regime as one of the most tightly controlled regimes in the world.
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