A testimony to failed autocracies: Eritrean soccer team defects

By James M. Dorsey

Eritrea’s national team has for all practical purposes defected after 10 of its players this week refused to return home following a World Cup qualifier in Botswana.

The defection and effective demise of the squad underscored the failure of autocratic rule in Eritrea already highlighted by the large contingent of Eritreans among the hun…