Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya, two of England’s Women’s World Cup winners, are stranded in Dubai amid Israel’s and the United States’ war with Iran.
Kildunne, the Red Roses standout player as John Mitchell’s side were crowned world champions at Twickenham last summer, will miss Harlequins’ home Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) fixture against Saracens on Saturday. Kabeya will be unavailable for Loughborough’s match at Sale.
A joint Rugby Football Union, PWR, Harlequins and Loughborough Lightning statement confirmed that the Quins full-back and the Lightning back-row Kabeya are in contact with their clubs and the RFU but their prospects of flying home from a short break in coming days remains uncertain.
The statement said: “During the reserve Premiership Women’s Rugby week, Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for a short break. Due to ongoing airspace disruption, they have been unable to return to England as planned and will therefore not play in PWR games this weekend.
“Both players have registered their presence with the UK government to receive official updates and guidance. Both Ellie and Sadia are in contact with the RFU, PWR and their clubs and will continue to be supported throughout this period. They will return to England as soon as it is possible to do so.”
Efforts to help Britons trapped in the war zone are ongoing, with the first government charter flight arriving in the UK early on Friday morning. Passengers on the Titan Airways charter flight, which flew in from Muscat, Oman, told of sleeping in car parks in Dubai as they heard explosions at the beginning of the conflict.
Etihad Airways announced on Friday it would be resuming a “limited commercial flight schedule” until 19 March, including flights to and from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow, Manchester and Dublin. More than 140,000 people in the region have registered their presence with the Foreign Office as the crisis has deepened.
England’s women’s cricket team have relocated their warm weather training camp to South Africa after the Middle East conflict forced the cancellation of their scheduled trip to Abu Dhabi.
The England and Wales Cricket Board scrapped plans to head to the UAE amid safety concerns and travel disruption in the region after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran last weekend.