HARARE, Sept 24: Eight Zimbabwean soccer players and two officials have failed to return to Zimbabwe after a trip to Britain, the state-run Herald newspaper reported on Saturday, with football insiders saying the men may have stayed behind to flee economical and political hardships in their own country.

Six players from the Harare-based CAPS United club and two from Highlanders, based in Bulawayo, failed to catch a flight from London’s Heathrow airport while two officials also remained behind.

“Zimbabwean football is counting the cost after eight players deserted.. and remained behind in England in one of the biggest crises to hit the country’s battered national sporting discipline,” the paper said.

The Herald named the missing CAPS United players as vice-captain Artwell Mabhiza, Silent Katumba, David Sengu, Raymond Undi, Elton Chimedza and Tichaona Nyenda.

Highlander players, reserve goalkeeper Luckson Mutanga and defender Dalisizwe Dhlamini have also disappeared, the paper said, adding that CAPS official Valentine Gwaze “is believed to have deserted the club.”

“Gwaze did not even turn up at Heathrow Airport for the team’s flight back home on Thursday night while while a second official, CAPS United general manager Joe Makuvire joined the queue but then disappeared into the massive airport complex,” it said.

The two Highlander players, Mutanga and Dhlamini, “only checked in their luggage but disappeared into the crowd,” the Herald said.

“This caused a delay in the British Airways flight back home as flight attendants were forced to pull their luggage from the plane,” it said.

CAPS United boss Twine Phiri said however he instructed Makuvire “at the last minute to stay behind and resolve the issue of the players that did not report for the flight back home.”

“I left my general manager behind so I will be able to get an update a little later,” Phiri told AFP.

Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) president Rafik Khan told AFP he could not yet comment as he was “waiting for reports from the delegation that went with the team.”

“Maybe the guys remained behind because they wanted to stay in Britain, but I do not know the reason,” Khan said.

“They have six months visas... This is a lesson we have learnt, we need to be more careful with youngsters,” he said.

Zimbabwe has in recent years seen at least four leading soccer players leave the crisis-hit country for Britain in the face of severe criticism from local authorities.—AFP