Entire Football Team from African Country Vanishes in Sweden after Competition

A youth football team from Ethiopia, comprising roughly 20 players and adult leaders, disappeared on the final day of the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg

Swedish police filed a missing persons report after a school administrator discovered the group had left without any notice

Authorities confirmed the team has not returned to Ethiopia, and police are working with the Swedish Migration Agency to trace them

An entire Ethiopian youth football team has gone missing in Sweden following their participation in the Gothia Cup, the world's largest youth football tournament, held in Gothenburg.

Roughly 20 individuals vanished, including teenage players aged 14 to 17 and at least one adult leader.

Their absence was discovered on the final day of the tournament, which concluded on 19 July, when a school administrator noticed the group had left their accommodation without informing anyone.

Tournament organisers promptly alerted police, who opened a missing persons investigation.

Team Missing 10 Days After Gothia Cup Ends

As of the time of reporting, the group had been unaccounted for for 10 days.

The Gothia Cup, also referred to as the World Youth Cup, drew teams from 77 countries this year, with four Ethiopian sides among the participants.

Fredrik Beckman, press spokesperson for the Gothia Cup, told the Göteborgs Posten newspaper that the situation was unexpected.

"From our perspective it's strange because this is a team that we have a good relationship with," he said, adding that the tournament's management filed the police report as a "precautionary measure."

The last known communication from the Ethiopian team came via email from the club's contact person, who thanked organisers for their "consideration" and suggested the situation stemmed from a "communication problem," according to Swedish newspaper Expressen.

The message offered no details on where the team was or whether they planned to travel back to Ethiopia.

Swedish authorities have said there is no indication of criminal activity behind the disappearance.

Ellinor Halldin, from the Swedish police's missing persons unit in the western region, told The Local:

"We have no idea if they're trying to stay in Sweden. That would just be speculation." She acknowledged that disappearances had occurred at the Gothia Cup previously, though "never so many as this."

Halldin also told the Göteborgs Posten:

"There is no indication that anything illegal lies behind this, such as people smuggling or something similar," adding that in her experience, missing individuals in such cases "usually trickle in gradually in the end."

Police are coordinating with the Swedish Migration Agency, border authorities, and officials in other countries as part of the search effort.

Investigators expect to be alerted if any of the missing individuals attempt to cross a border or come into contact with officials in another jurisdiction.

Police have confirmed the group has not returned to Ethiopia, and the disappearance is believed to be voluntary.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Click here to read article