Seven members of the Uganda Under-19 cricket team have failed to return home after they went missing in Canada where they were taking part in a 2010 World Cup qualifier, an official said here on Wednesday.

The Uganda Cricket Association spokesman Latimer Mukasa said the players left the camp in Toronto on Saturday, two days before their return to Kampala at the completion of the tournament, where Uganda failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in New Zealand.

He said the Canadian police have been alerted to search for the players who left without their travel documents.

"We have been in touch with the Canadian authorities and told them to repatriate the boys back to Uganda once they are found," Mukasa said.

The missing players include team captain Ahmed Yakub and top scorer Andrew Ochan. Others are Emmanuel Nakaana, Ahmed Sangau, Moses Okwera, Geoffrey Nyero and Michael Abala.

It is not the first time that Ugandan cricketers have gone missing in a foreign country. Two years ago Jimmy Okello and Patrick Ochan stayed behind in Australia after Uganda won the inaugural ICC Division III World Cricket League in Darwin.