Eritrea footballers 'gain Botswana asylum' after World Cup qualifier

Botswana has granted asylum to 10 Eritrean footballers who refused to return home after a World Cup qualifying match, their lawyer says.
In 2012, 17 Eritrean soccer players and a team doctor went missing during a tournament in Uganda and eventually applied for asylum. The entire team sought refugee status at the same tournament in 2009. Many Eritrean footballers and athletes have previously used sports events to try and escape their homeland.
A report by the UN human rights council in June accused the Eritrean government of systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations.
The situation has prompted hundreds of thousands of people to flee the country, the report said.
Eritrea has denied committing human rights abuses and says those leaving the country are economic migrants.
Eritrea was eliminated from 2018 World Cup qualifying by Botswana in this week's game.