Pakistan and Uganda athletes ‘missing’ after Commonwealth Games

What the report says

Police in Scotland are investigating reports that several foreign athletes did not return home after the Commonwealth Games ended in Glasgow last Sunday, according to Al Jazeera’s Reuters-based report. The athletes were described in media coverage as boxers from Uganda and Pakistan. Police Scotland said it had received reports of multiple athletes being unaccounted for and that inquiries were under way, with early contact being made with the UK Home Office.

The article said Uganda’s NBS Sport reported that four members of the country’s six-person boxing squad had gone missing before their planned return on Tuesday. One of those athletes was reported to have said they intended to seek asylum. Pakistan Today separately reported that one Pakistani boxer did not appear for a scheduled flight home on Tuesday.

The report places the case in a broader pattern seen at past Commonwealth Games, especially editions hosted in Britain or Australia. It notes that similar incidents have occurred before, including after the 2018 Gold Coast Games, when some athletes and officials were still being sought weeks later and others had applied for asylum. The Glasgow Games brought together about 3,000 athletes from 74 countries over 11 days, making departures after competition a matter of routine logistics as well as immigration and security concern.