FIFA and AFC have officially confirmed that the Eritrean national team has withdrawn from the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Guardian now reports that Eritrea's withdrawal from the World Cup qualifiers is due to fear of players using overseas schedules to escape.

Eritrea was supposed to face Morocco in the World Cup qualifiers a few days later, but suddenly withdrew from the competition. FIFA and AFC did not provide any explanation in the statement.

The Eritrean Football Association has not yet commented on this matter, but according to The Guardian, Eritrean domestic players have been preparing for the first two World Cup qualifiers for three months until the end of October when they were informed that they would not participate in the matches. It is believed that some members of the Chinese Football Association attempted to persuade the Ministry of Sports and Culture to approve the team's participation, but were rejected by Zemede Tekle, the sports and culture commissioner in charge of the Chinese Football Association.

According to several individuals closely related to the team, the main reason for Eritrea's withdrawal from the World Cup qualifiers is for the government to prevent players from taking advantage of the national team's opportunity to play abroad and applying for political asylum.

A source said, "This is heartbreaking as they are stifling Eritrean football. It's not easy for players to argue. They may send you to prison for your protests, and you can only wait quietly to see what decisions will be made."

The Guardian contacted the President of the Eritrean Football Association, Paul Waldharnot, but he did not respond.

It is estimated that since 2009, more than 60 players have sought asylum under their national identity, with the most recent involving five female players who fled just hours before the U20 Women's Championship against host Uganda in November 2021 at the East and Central African Football Association.

Seven male players - Abel Okba Kilo, Eyoba Gilme, Joseph Mbrahtu, Filmon Serere, Robel Kidane, Abraham, and Ismail Jahar - disappeared in Uganda after helping Eritrea reach the East and Central African FA Cup final for the first time in December 2019. They are still in hiding. Four U20 international players - Hannibal Tekler, Meyer Josif, Simon Asmerash, and Hermon Jos é hannes - fled after Eritrea defeated Zanzibar 5-0 in the quarter finals of the cup in October 2019.

Since the friendly match against Sudan in January 2020, the Eritrean national team has not participated in any matches, and their most recent official match was the World Cup qualifiers in September 2019. In the past 48 months, they have not participated in any matches and no longer have FIFA rankings. Additionally, as Eritrea does not have a stadium that meets FIFA's requirements for hosting international matches, all team matches must be played away.

Daniel Solomon, founder of a football website in Eritrea, said, "The problem facing Eritrean government officials is that they must play 10 games abroad."