4 Ugandan Boxers Among Athletes Who Went Missing After Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Several athletes from multiple countries failed to return home with their teams after the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games concluded on Sunday
- Police Scotland confirmed it received reports of athletes unaccounted for and said early engagement with the Home Office was under way
- One of the missing Ugandan boxers reportedly told a sports outlet the group intended to seek asylum and pursue better training opportunities abroad
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Several athletes who competed in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have not returned home with their national teams, with Police Scotland confirming it received reports of multiple competitors going unaccounted for in the days following the competition's conclusion.
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Four members of the Ugandan boxing squad were identified by local media as among those who had disappeared. Named as Nuhu Batte, Angel Katushabe, Ibrahim Kemis and Emily Nakalema, the athletes failed to board their flight home after the Games ended on Sunday.
Ugandan boxers said to be seeking asylum
NBS Sport reported that one of the four missing boxers spoke to the outlet and indicated the group had chosen to remain in Scotland with the intention of claiming asylum. The boxer reportedly said the athletes believed other countries offered superior training facilities and greater career opportunities, and appealed to Ugandans not to judge them for their decision. A Team Uganda spokesman declined to comment. The remainder of the Ugandan delegation has since returned to Kampala.
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Pakistani boxer Qudrat Ullah also did not travel back with his team, according to Pakistan Today. Officials reportedly found his room empty when they went to locate him ahead of the squad's departure.
Police Scotland confirmed:
"Inquiries are ongoing to assess the circumstances, and early engagement is taking place with the Home Office."
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A pattern seen at previous Commonwealth Games
The situation echoes events from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, also held in Glasgow, when dozens of athletes vanished after competition ended. Two Ugandan rugby players went missing that year and were later discovered playing club rugby in Cardiff.
One of them, Philip Pariyo, was subsequently jailed for four and a half years after being convicted of rape. Cameroonian weightlifter Cyrille Tchatchet II also disappeared after the 2014 Games to escape his home country. He returned to compete in the 2026 edition and won a silver medal.
Under Games policy, athletes were required to vacate their accommodation within two nights of their sport concluding.
Glasgow 2026 spokeswoman Sophie Ashcroft said organisers were working closely with Police Scotland, Border Force and UK Visas and Immigration to ensure a secure end to the event, which brought together 3,000 athletes from 74 nations across 11 days of competition. The Home Office conducts enhanced checks on individuals ahead of major sporting events and considers any asylum applications on a case-by-case basis.
Runner encounters knife-wielding man during Glasgow
Briefly News previously reported that Australian middle-distance runner Olli Hoare encountered a person brandishing a knife while on a training run in Glasgow city centre on Saturday
The incident was initially linked to the murder of Paul McMinigal, 44, on Friday, but GPS data from Hoare's watch confirmed it occurred separately
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Source: Briefly News
