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Seven players and officials from an Eritrean football team that played in Eswatini last month are still in the kingdom and have applied for asylum, police and officials told AFP on Sunday.
The three players and four officials are part of a 24-person team that defeated Eswatini in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on March 31, according to police and several sources.
A Confederation of African Football (CAF) official told AFP this week that only three of 10 locally based players returned to Eritrea after the team was due to travel home via South Africa and Egypt.
Deputy police communication officer Nosipho Mnguni told AFP that police were aware of the presence of three players and four officials from Eritrea.
“The police are aware of the presence of three players and four officials from Eritrea,” Mnguni said.
Mnguni said the group reported to the Lobamba police station after the match.
“Reporting to the police is the first step of any person seeking asylum,” Mnguni said.
An official at the office of the Commissioner of Refugees, speaking on condition of anonymity, said written asylum applications had been received from seven Eritrean nationals.
An Eswatini Football Association (EFA) official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the seven were being accommodated at a sports facility in Lobamba, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) outside the capital, Mbabane.
The official added that some were being assisted by relatives who had also applied for asylum.
A journalist who covered the match told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, that players had told him they did not intend to return to Eritrea.
According to the journalist, the players said their primary concern was being required to perform military service.
“They told me clearly that they are not going back,” the journalist said.
“Their biggest fear is being enrolled in military service.”
The journalist said the players had submitted asylum requests and were awaiting the outcome of the process.
“They have submitted their asylum requests and are waiting for the process to unfold.”
The United Nations estimates that about 80 Eritrean football players, coaches and officials have left the country over the past 20 years.
