They disappeared in an unknown direction

The leadership of the Burundi Handball Federation is afraid to return home without athletes.

Another escape at a major sporting event. The handball players of the national team of Burundi escaped from the location of their team during the World Championship for players under the age of 19, which is being held in Croatia. The police began searching immediately after the appeal of the leadership of the delegation of Burundi, but so far the athletes have not been found.

They lost badly and ran away

According to the Burundi Handball Federation, all the missing athletes were born in 2006. All that is known on the morning of August 13 is that the athletes left the premises of the university residence in Rijeka and disappeared in an unknown direction. The Croatian police began the search immediately, although according to the law it is necessary to wait 24 hours from the moment of appeal before opening a missing person's case.

The Burundi national team performed poorly in Croatia. Although, of course, it was not as unsuccessful as the handball players of the Kyrgyz national team at the CIS Games in Minsk. The African boys lost in the group stage to the team of the Faroe Islands (21:53), Sweden (16:62) and Iran (24:46).

But the tournament was not over for them. According to the regulations, the national team of Burundi participated in the President's consolation Cup for the worst teams of the championship, losing to the national teams of the USA and Argentina. And then the Burundian handball players did not show up for the matches with Bahrain and New Zealand, for which they received technical defeats with a score of 0:10.

The organizers of the tournament claim that maximum measures have been taken to ensure the safety of participants in the World Cup. But something went wrong.

"We are in complete shock. The Federation is in constant contact with the parents of our athletes. We ask everyone who can help us find our guys. I do not know at all how we will return home without our boys," said the head of the handball Federation of Burundi, Dauphin Nicobamier.

Representatives of the migration service reported that the Schengen visas of members of the Burundi youth national team are valid until August 15. In simple terms, they have enough options for moving. Most likely, the escape was planned in advance, and the athletes are no longer in Croatia. But maybe there will be more.

Most likely, the guys from Burundi came to the tournament not to win, but to look for a better life. Burundi, located in East Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world and one of the most densely populated on the continent. And Croatia is one of the transit countries for illegal immigrants from Africa and Asia who are trying to get to Western Europe through the Balkans.

Police are continuing to search for the missing athletes. But this is not the first case in sports history. And there are not always escapees.