A football team in Tunisia’s fourth level has ceased operations after 30 of its players entered Europe illegally, according to the club’s president on Tuesday.
Jamil Meftahi, the club’s president, told AFP that over the previous three years, no fewer than 32 players have immigrated illegally to Europe.
“We stopped the activity and suspended the matches 20 days ago,” he added.
The official blamed the exodus on “a lack of financial resources” for the club and the players. “We can’t buy equipment, jerseys and sports shoes” and the players “don’t get financial subsidies”.
According to him, most of the players, aged between 17 and 22, have travelled to Europe “either by sea or by going to Serbia (a country for which Tunisians did not need visas until recently, editor’s note) and then illegally crossing the borders to other countries”.
The suspension of the club’s activities will continue “until we find a solution with the Tunisian Football Federation”, Meftahi added.
The north-western town of Ghardimaou, which shares a border with Algeria, is a marginalized region that is primarily dependent on agriculture.
The smuggling out of Tunisian athletes has increased over the past few years.
Khalil Zaouli, a 19-year-old replacement goalie for the Avenir Sportif de Rejiche team, was said to have immigrated illegally to Italy in the middle of February due to “the club’s financial woes.”
The coastline of Tunisia, which is fewer than 150 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa, regularly reports migration attempts, mostly from sub-Saharan African nations.
In recent years, thousands of Tunisians have also illegally departed the nation by sea due to the country’s worsening economic and social conditions since President Kais Saied’s coup d’état a year and a half ago.
More than 14,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, compared to just over 5,300 in the same period last year and 4,300 in 2021, according to the Italian Interior Ministry.
