Glasgow 2026: Two Ghanaian Boxers and Para Athlete Allegedly Disappear From Team Camp
- Sports journalist Raymond Nyamador claimed three athletes from Ghana's 40-person contingent disappeared after the competition ended
- Para-athlete Zinabu Issah, who won silver for Ghana at the Games, was named among those allegedly unaccounted for alongside two boxers
- A Ghana team official pushed back on the claims, saying the delegation was travelling in batches
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Three members of Ghana's delegation to the 2026 Commonwealth Games have reportedly gone missing after the conclusion of the competition in Glasgow.
Ghana competed in Glasgow with a 40-member contingent made up of 23 men and 17 women across athletics, boxing, judo, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting and para-sport events.
Source: Getty Images
3 Ghanaian athletes go AWOL after Commonwealth Games
According to sports journalist Raymond Nyamador, para-athlete Zinabu Issah and boxers Daniel Plange and Precious Akai Nettey have allegedly gone absent without leave (AWOL) following the Games, which ended on August 2.
The reports have quickly attracted attention, particularly because Issah was one of Ghana's standout performers in Scotland after winning the country's first medal of the Games.
The reports have added to what was an already disappointing campaign for Team Ghana.
Zinabu Issah captured silver in the women's F57 shot put with a season-best throw of 8.65 metres, while bantamweight boxer Amadu Mohammed secured a bronze medal.
Official pushes back on missing athletes claim
But officials insist it is too early to conclude that any athlete has disappeared, as Ghana's delegation is returning home in phases.
Charles Osei Assibey, the Communications Director of the Ghana Olympic Committee who arrived back in Ghana on Monday, August 4, dismissed suggestions that the athletes had definitively gone missing.
Speaking to Sporty FM, he explained that the staggered travel arrangements made it impossible to account for every team member until the final group arrives.
"Until Thursday or Friday, we can't say an athlete has gone AWOL. We are travelling in batches. The organisers insisted that as soon as we are done with the competition, we leave," he said.
Assibey added that a complete assessment can only be made after August 8, when the last batch of Ghana's delegation is expected to land at Accra International Airport.
Ghana's post-Commonwealth Games disappearances
This is not the first time Ghana has faced similar allegations at a major multi-sport event.
During the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, badminton players Gifty Mensah and Stella Amasah were reported missing after their elimination, prompting alerts to Interpol and Australian border authorities.
A similar incident occurred at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham when a Ghanaian coach was initially reported missing before officials later confirmed he had simply lost his way while shopping.
Whether the latest reports stem from another misunderstanding or a genuine disappearance is expected to become clearer once Ghana's entire delegation completes its return home later this week.
25 Ghanaians seek asylum in Canada
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that 25 Ghanaians who travelled to Canada on temporary residence permits for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have filed asylum claims.
Their applications are part of 175 claims submitted by foreign nationals who entered Canada in connection with the tournament.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
