At least five (5) female Eritrean football players are reportedly missing from their team hotel in Jinja.
The players are part of the female Eritrean under 20 football national team that is in Uganda to take part in the CECAFA women’s under 20 championships.
In a statement released on Tuesday, CECAFA said that officials are “doing their best” to locate the five players.
The statement reads that “CECAFA has confirmed that five Eritrean players have this morning disappeared from their hotel in Jinja, Uganda, the matter has been reported to police and investigations are ongoing.”
The CECAFA Women’s under 20 football tournament started on October 30, 2021, and according to the CECAFA schedule, the final is scheduled for November 9, 2021, with Eritrea being one of the participating countries.
The Eritrean team had lost two of their opening games, with one to Tanzania and another to Ethiopia. The team was scheduled to play its third game on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, against the hosts of Uganda.
When contacted, James Mubi who is the police spokesperson of the Kiira Region confirmed the incident and said that the missing players have been identified by police.
Mubi said that five players who are missing include Knfu Trhas Habate, aged 19; Raka Shamat Futsum who is an 18-year-old; Mohammed Yordanos Abraham aged 17, Kahsay Rahel Michael aged 18 and Yisehaq Liwam Solomon aged 16.
Mubi said that police have opened a case file and investigations are currently ongoing to find the missing players.