(foto: Getty Images)
Eritrea is set to return to international football in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers after a six-year absence, following a history of player defections and political restrictions on travel.
Eritrea are on the verge of a historic return to international football after more than six years of absence.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the preliminary round pairings for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and Eritrea are set to face Eswatini in March in a two-legged tie, home and away.
If the matches go ahead as planned, it will be Eritrea’s first official international appearance since January 2020, when they played a friendly against Sudan.
Years of isolation from international football
In recent years, Eritrea have completely withdrawn from international competitions, repeatedly pulling out of qualifiers for the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
The reason was extraordinary and deeply political: players and members of the coaching staff kept defecting during trips abroad.
Defections were recorded after tournaments and qualifiers in Angola, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Botswana. The last major case came in 2019, when members of Eritrea’s under-20 national team disappeared during a trip to Uganda.
Because of this, Eritrean authorities stopped allowing national teams to travel abroad after 2019, effectively freezing the country out of international football.
More than 80 players left the country
According to estimates, around 80 Eritrean footballers have left the country during national team trips over the past two decades.
None of them, however, managed to build a serious professional career abroad.
The main reason for the defections was simple and tragic: the players did not want to return to a highly repressive political system.
A country under a long-standing authoritarian regime
Eritrea has been ruled since independence in 1993 by president Isaias Afwerki.
His regime has long been described by international human rights organisations as one of the most repressive in the world, with severe restrictions on freedom of movement, expression and political life.
For many young athletes, a trip abroad with the national team represented the only realistic chance to escape.
A change of policy?
Eritrea had already registered to take part in the most recent AFCON qualification cycle, but later withdrew.
This time, however, there are signs that policy has changed and that the country may finally return to the international stage.
If Eritrea go through with their participation, the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will become the first tournament in history to feature all 54 African football associations.
For Eritrean football, it would not just be a sporting return.
It would be the end of a long, painful chapter of isolation — and the beginning of something entirely new.