Several athletes reported missing in Glasgow after Commonwealth Games

Several athletes were reported missing in Glasgow after the Commonwealth Games concluded on Sunday, Police Scotland said. The Games wrapped up on Sunday after 11 days of competition.

Ugandan broadcaster NBS Sport reported that four members of Uganda's six‑member boxing team did not board their scheduled flight home, naming Nuhu Batte, Angel Katushabe, Ibrahim Kemis and Emily Nakalema. Pakistan Today reported that boxer Qudratullah did not join the rest of Pakistan's contingent on its return flight and was not found in his room when officials went to search for him. Glasgow 2026 spokeswoman Sophie Ashcroft said: "Over the last two weeks, we have welcomed 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories of the Commonwealth to Glasgow. "As athletes and support staff leave the city, we continue to work closely with wider partners - including Police Scotland, Border Force and UK Visas & Immigration - to ensure a safe and secure conclusion to the Games."

Police Scotland said: "Police Scotland has received reports of several athletes who are unaccounted for. "Inquiries are ongoing to assess the circumstances, and early engagement is taking place with the Home Office."

NBS Sport said it had spoken to one of the four missing Ugandan boxers, who claimed the athletes intended to seek asylum in Scotland and continue their boxing careers in a country they believed offered better training facilities and opportunities than their homeland; the boxer was said to have appealed to Ugandans for understanding and asked not to be judged for the decision. A spokesman for Team Uganda at the Games told BBC Scotland News the team had no comment to make, and the rest of the Uganda squad have since departed for their home country.

A source close to the Pakistan Olympic Association told India Today: "The interesting thing is Qudratullah disappeared despite his passport being with the team manager." During the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Pakistani boxers Suleman Baloch and Nazeerullah Khan also disappeared despite reports that their passports were with the contingent management, the India Today report added.

Reports of athletes going missing after the Commonwealth Games are not unprecedented; following previous editions — including the 2014 Games in Glasgow — dozens of competitors went missing in the aftermath. In 2014 two Ugandan rugby players disappeared after the contest ended and were later found playing rugby in Cardiff for a small team, and one of the players, Philip Pariyo, was later jailed for four and a half years after raping a woman in Cardiff. Weightlifter Cyrille Tchatchet II also disappeared after the 2014 Games to escape Cameroon; at those Games he finished fifth, but his return in 2026 saw him win a silver medal.

Athletes were expected to leave the Games in line with the Glasgow 2026 length of stay policy, with Games accommodation ending two nights after each athlete's sport had concluded. The Home Office is understood to carry out enhanced checks on people ahead of major sporting events such as the Games, while working with event sponsors to strengthen controls on who can enter the UK for such events.

Police inquiries are ongoing and early engagement is taking place with the Home Office, and "Any future asylum claims would be considered on their individual merits, with applications against the facts of the case and available evidence."