Eritrean football team goes missing in Kenya

NAIROBI - Kenyan officials were Tuesday reportedly searching for the Eritrean national football team after it failed to return home following defeat in a local tournament.

Tanzania knocked out Eritrea from a competition in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, organised by the regional body the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA), at the end of last week.

However, media reports said the plane returned to Asmara carrying only the coach and a few officials.

CECAFA head Nicholas Musonye confirmed that the players were believed to be hiding out in Nairobi rather than return to Eritrea, which has one of Africa’s most repressive regimes.

According to the United Nations, 62,000 Eritreans sought asylum abroad last year.

Kenyan police were unavailable to comment on the progress of the search for the footballers.