Who is Amanullah Rauf Baloch? Pakistani footballers slips away in Oslo during Norway Cup

A young Pakistani footballer, Amanullah Rauf Baloch, has gone missing in Oslo, Norway, during the prestigious Norway Cup Street Football Championship. Amanullah was representing Pakistan as part of the Muslim Hands football team, which traveled to Norway to participate in the international event.

According to reports, Amanullah disappeared on the very first day of the tournament. He separated from his team before the event began and has since cut all communication with team management and his fellow players. Officials have confirmed that he still has his passport in his possession, raising concerns that he may have deliberately chosen to remain behind.

Amanullah is originally from Lyari, Karachi, a well-known neighborhood for producing football talent in Pakistan. The team management has made repeated efforts to contact him, but so far, those efforts have been unsuccessful.

This is not the first such incident involving Pakistani athletes. Just last month, during the World University Games in Germany, two students from Punjab University, Shazil Ahmed and Nadeem Ali, also disappeared during the event and have not been located.

Moreover, in August 2024, three national hockey players—Murtaza Yaqoob, Ihtesham Aslam, and Abdul Rahman—along with a physiotherapist, vanished in Poland while on tour with the national team. Reports later revealed that they had applied for political asylum abroad.

These repeated incidents are raising serious questions about athlete monitoring, security protocols, and the responsibilities of sports authorities in ensuring that participants return home safely.

The Pakistani authorities have not yet issued an official statement regarding Amanullah’s disappearance, but the incident is likely to intensify scrutiny of future international sports tours involving Pakistani athletes.