Eritrea national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Red Sea Boys[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Eritrean National Football Federation | ||
| Sub-confederation | CECAFA (East Africa & Central Africa) | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Negash Tekli[2] | ||
| Home stadium | Cicero Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | ERI | ||
| FIFA ranking | 189 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 121 (August 2007) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 190 (September 2011, December 2011) | ||
| Elo ranking | 165 | ||
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| First international | |||
 Sudan 1–1 Eritrea  (Khartoum; June 26, 1992) |
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| Biggest win | |||
Eritrea 3–1 Somalia  (Nairobi, Kenya; 5 December 2009) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
 Ghana 5–0 Eritrea (Dakar, Senegal; February 28, 1999)  Angola 6–1 Eritrea (Luanda, Angola; March 25, 2007) |
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The Eritrea national football team is controlled by the Eritrean National Football Federation (ENFF). It is nicknamed the Red Sea Boys. It has not qualified for the finals of the FIFA World Cup or the African Nations Cup. Red Sea FC are the main supplier for the national football team of Eritrea.
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[edit] History
An Eritrean team was invited[by whom?] to a friendly tournament in Sudan in 1992, the year before the country's independence was accomplished.[3] Eritrea participated in the 1994 CECAFA Cup, organised by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Association,[3] even though the ENFF was not founded until 1996.[4] The first full international was in the 1998 CECAFA Cup,[3][5] the year the ENFF joined the CAF[6] and FIFA.[4] They participated in the qualifying rounds of the 2000 African Nations Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and subsequent editions until 2008.[3] They have also appeared intermittently in the CECAFA Cup.[3][7]
In the first round of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, they were drawn against Nigeria, and were defeated 4–0 in the away leg,[8] after a goalless draw at home.[9] Captain of the team was Debesai Ghierghis Ogbazghi. The coach was Yilmaz Yuceturk.[8]
In the first round of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, they were drawn against Sudan and lost the first leg 3–0,[10] before another goalless draw in Asmara.[11] The coach was Eritrean Tekie Abraha.[10][11]
In qualification group 6 for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, under the guidance of Romanian Dorian Marin, Eritrea finished second behind Angola, failing to qualify for the final tournament. They beat Kenya twice and drew at home to Angola.
[edit] Recent events
As of 2010[update], recent years have seen a high number of refugees leaving Eritrea[12][13] and some athletes travelling to competitions abroad have taken the opportunity to abscond.[14] Four players of Red Sea FC defected after a CAF Champions League 2006 match in Nairobi, Kenya,[15] and up to 12 members of the national side after the 2007 CECAFA Cup in Tanzania.[12][16] Another 6 players sought asylum in Angola in March 2007 after a game in the qualification group 6 for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.[17][18] Three more players from the national team sought asylum in Sudan.[19]
Eritrea withdrew from the 2008 CECAFA Cup,[2] and from the common qualifying tournament shared by the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 African Cup of Nations;.[20] Given the number of players seeking asylum, the Eritrean government began requiring athletes to pay a 100,000 nakfa surety before traveling abroad.[15]
Eritrea returned to the 2009 CECAFA Cup in Nairobi. A young squad was assembled with just 12 days' training.[2] In Group B, they gained a surprise draw with Zimbabwe,[1] lost narrowly to Rwanda,[21] and beat Somalia 3–1.[22] They were easily beaten 4–0 in the quarter-finals by Tanzania.[2] Twelve squad members failed to report for the return flight, and sought the assistance of the Refugee Consortium of Kenya.[12][13] They are believed to be in hiding in Eastleigh, an eastern suburb of Nairobi home to many immigrants.[23] Nicholas Musonye, the secretary-general of CECAFA, feared that the government might react by refusing to let the team travel abroad in future.[13] The twelve players were later granted interim asylum by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kenya.[24] Eleven of these players have since travelled to Adelaide in Australia[25] with two of them, Samuel Ghebrehiwet and Ambes Sium, signing for Gold Coast United in the A-League in August, 2011.[26]
Eritrea U-23 Red Sea Camels defeated Kenya national teams Under 23 4 - 1. The game was played in the All Africa Games qualifier held in Asmara
[edit] Competitive record
[edit] World Cup record
- 1930 to 1998 — Did not enter
- 2002 to 2006 — Did not qualify
- 2010 — Did not enter
- 2014 — Did not qualify
[edit] African Nations Cup record
- 1957 to 1998 — Did not enter
- 2000 to 2008 — Did not qualify
- 2010 — Withdrew
- 2012 - Did not enter
- 2013 - Did not enter
[edit] Current squad
As played at the 2009 CECAFA Cup in Kenya. The squad list is sourced from various news reports from matches and is incomplete.
[edit] List of coaches
- Yilmaz Yuceturk (2000)
- Dorian Marin (2006–2007)
- Negash Teklit (2009-)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Pilipili, Oscar (12 December 2009). "Zimbabwe held 0–0 by Eritrea". The Standard. Nairobi. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144029449&cid=38&. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d Wandera, Gilbert (9 December 2009). "Tanzania hit Eritrea to make semi-final". The Standard (Nairobi). http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1144029948&cid=38. Retrieved 15 December 2009.[dead link]
- ^ a b c d e Courtney, Barrie (31 January 2008). "Eritrea International Matches". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/erit-intres.html. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Eritrea on FIFA.com". FIFA.com. FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=eri/index.html. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "Eritrea Matches From 01.01.1872 To 30.11.2010". FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/worldFootball/results/_results.htmx?gender=m&rangeDate=3&context=association&association=eri&fromYear=1872&toYear=2010&fromMonth=1&toMonth=11. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "Eritrean National Football Federation (ENFF)". Cafonline.com. CAF. http://www.cafonline.com/association/eritrea/information. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Stokkermans, Karel (11 December 2009). "East and Central African Championship (CECAFA)". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eastcentrafr.html. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b "First stage: Nigeria - Eritrea 4:0 (2:0)". 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Preliminaries. FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=4395/preliminaries/preliminary=3868/matches/match=19539/report.html. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ "First stage: Eritrea - Nigeria 0:0". 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Preliminaries. FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=4395/preliminaries/preliminary=3868/matches/match=19538/report.html. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Play-off: Sudan - Eritrea 3:0 (0:0)". 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany Preliminaries. FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/preliminaries/preliminary=7381/matches/match=34284/report.html. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Play-off: Eritrea - Sudan 0:0". 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany Preliminaries. FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/preliminaries/preliminary=7381/matches/match=34285/report.html. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Wyatt, Ben (15 December 2009). "Kenyan police search for missing footballers". London: CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/football/12/15/football.cecafa.eritrea.kenya/. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Odula, Tom (15 December 2009). "12 Eritrea soccer players defect during tournament in Kenya; UN will hear case". Canadian Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jQ6cqnwfpCFiXegi62EMlMpArszw. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Pflanz, Mike (15 December 2009). "Eritrean football team missing after match in Kenya". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/eritrea/6817481/Eritrean-football-team-missing-after-match-in-Kenya.html. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Eritrea players go missing in Kenya". AFP. 14 December 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g597NzDJhD9NKdqoqa9hod7-LqIQ. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "Official: Players say death awaits them in Eritrea". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 16 December 2009. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/wires/12/16/2080.ap.soc.eritrea.defections.1st.ld.writethru.0276/. Retrieved 17 December 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Eritrean footballers join row of asylum seekers". afrol.com. 27 March 2007. http://www.afrol.com/articles/24860. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "Angola considers asylum claims". BBC. 28 March 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/6499987.stm. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- ^ "Three Eritrean Players Seek Asylum in Sudan". Sudan Vision. 25 November. http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4216. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- ^ "Eritrea withdraw from qualifiers". FIFA. Tuesday 25 March 2008. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=720341.html. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Toskin, Robin (4 December 2009). "Eritrean goalkeeper’s effort not good enough". The Standard (Nairobi). http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144029624&cid=38&. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "Eritrea crush Somalia as Rwanda pip Zims". The Standard (Nairobi). 6 December 2009. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144029771&cid=38&. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Xinhua (16 December 2009). "Kenya Searches for 12 "Missing" Eritrean Players". CRI. http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/12/15/1221s535842.htm. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Ombati, Cyrus (18 December 2009). "12 Eritrean footballers granted asylum". The Standard. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144030664&cid=4&. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- ^ http://assenna.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2845:11-members-of-the-eritrean-national-football-team-who-abscond-last-year-in-nairobi-arrive-at-adelaide-city-safely&catid=18:news&Itemid=70
- ^ http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/213037,gold-coast-sign-refugee-pair.aspx
- ^ Kitula, Sammy (8 December 2009). "Tanzania Hit Eritrea for Four to Reach Semis". allafrica.com. http://allafrica.com/stories/200912081062.html. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Okinyo, Collins (4 December 2009). "Rwanda through to Quarter Finals". michezo net. http://michezonet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83%3Arwanda-through-to-quarter-finals&catid=35%3Ademo-content2&Itemid=29. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ a b Chande, Zena (8 December 2009). "Kilimanjaro Stars Cruise Into Semis". allAfrica.com. http://allafrica.com/stories/200912080928.html. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
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