Martin Plaut

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BBC Tigrinya reported that Eritrea withdrew from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) without providing any explanation to the organisers.

CAF has confirmed Eritrea's withdrawal from the CHAN 2024 Qualifiers, resulting in the cancellation of the upcoming matches at Juba National Stadium.  Although CAF's Competitions Division was annoyed by this last minute decision, it extended appreciation to all involved parties for their understanding of this unfortunate last minute withdrawal.

Given the political history between Eritrea and Ethiopia, this fixture was expected to be a highly charged affair, according to many sports commentators. The first match was going to be played on Thursday, October 31st in Juba, with the return leg scheduled for Saturday, November 3rd.

The upcoming schedule had created a buzz in social media. Many Eritreans were talking about how Eritrea's national football team resurrected to face Ethiopia for the first time since January 2020 when they lost 1-0 at home in Asmara to Sudan in a friendly. Well, it wasn't meant to be. BBC Tigrinya reported that Eritrea, a country plagued by defections of its players, lacked resources and foresight in neither partaking nor hosting international matches.

As a result, the Eritrean men's national team rarely get the opportunity to play in international football matches. The team has not played an international match in four years, largely due defection concerns.

According to experts the cancellation must have broken the hearts of many members of the national team, including many fans.

The TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) 2024 will be played between 01 - 28 February 2025. The first round of qualifiers will now be played on the weekend of 25-27 October 2024 without Eritrea. CHAN is scheduled to be hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Now the 3^rd and 4^th matches of the first round which were set to be played between Eritrea and Ethiopia at Juba National Stadium will no longer proceed as planned. Following Eritrea's withdrawal, Ethiopia will instead compete against either Sudan or Tanzania in the final. qualification round.