Around 20 members of a youth football delegation from Ethiopia have vanished on the final day of the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg. The group, made up of teenage players between 14 and 17 years old alongside team leaders, cleared out without warning.
A school staff member responsible for housing the team discovered the empty rooms and alerted tournament officials.
Police rule out foul play
Swedish authorities confirmed that the group has not returned home. Police believe the departure was intentional rather than forced. Addressing the search, Ellinor Halldin from the Police Region West explained:
“There are no indications that there is anything illegal behind it, such as human trafficking or similar” though she cautioned “We have no idea if they’re trying to stay in Sweden. That would just be speculation.”
Tournament organizers left shocked
The unexpected disappearance surprised tournament officials who had built good relations with the delegation. Gothia Cup spokesperson Fredrik Beckman expressed his confusion, admitting:
“From our perspective it’s strange because this is a team that we have a good relationship with.”
Officials noted that while isolated disappearances occurred in prior years, losing an entire group of this size is unprecedented.
Multi-agency search underway
Swedish police have joined forces with the Swedish Migration Agency, border authorities and overseas partners to trace the missing players and leaders.
Investigators are currently looking into whether the group intends to apply for asylum in Sweden or travel across open borders into neighboring European nations.
