A Tunisian football club, Avenir Sportif de Rejiche Club FC which plays in the fourth-division of the league, has been forced to suspend all sporting activities after over 30 of its players emigrated illegally to Europe.
The club’s president, Jamil Meftahi, who confirmed the development on Wednesday, said no fewer than 32 players had emigrated illegally to Europe over the past three years due to the financial situation at the club.
“We stopped the activity and suspended the matches 20 days ago,” Meftahi said, blaming the mass exodus of the players 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,” he said.
According to Meftahi, most of the players aged between 17 and 22 travelled to Europe either by sea or by going to Serbia, a country that does not require visas, and then illegally crossing the borders to other countries.
The suspension of the club’s activities, according to the president, would continue “until we find a solution with the Tunisian Football Federation.”
The club is located in Ghardimaou, a border town with Algeria in the north-west of the country, and is largely a marginalised area that depends heavily on agriculture.
The club first raised the alarm in February when it announced that its substitute goalkeeper, Khalil Zaouli, a 19-year-old, had emigrated illegally to Italy because of “the club’s financial difficulties”.