Eritrea to tighten player monitoring for AFCON qualifiers – Report

Eritrea’s football federation is expected to increase monitoring of its players during upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Kenya and South Africa amid fears of further defections, according to reports.

The Eritrean national team will return to AFCON qualifying for the first time since its 2008 campaign, with matches against Kenya in Nairobi on 26 September and South Africa in Cairo four days later.

Eritrea has long faced scrutiny over restrictions on its citizens’ ability to travel, and football has been affected by concerns over players leaving the country without official approval.

Speaking at a press conference in Asmara this week, Eritrean National Football Federation (ENFF) president Paulos W/Haimanot said the federation planned to include more dual-nationality players and footballers already based abroad in the national team setup.

According to Africa Intelligence, the move is intended to help reduce the number of player defections that have occurred during international trips.

The publication also reported that Eritrea’s head of state had ordered tighter supervision of the squad for the matches against Kenya and South Africa.

The report added that some locally based players would be assigned individuals to monitor their movements throughout the training camp and during travel.

Earlier this year, at least three Eritrean players were reported to have left the team’s training camp in Eswatini.