A man identified as Craig McAllister in a photo published by the Yemen Post newspaper

An Australian football coach has been kidnapped by an unknown group in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.

The man, named as Craig Bruce McAllister by local media, disappeared without a trace after overseeing training at the Al Ahli Football Club late last month.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirmed on Wednesday that an Australian living in Yemen had disappeared, The Australian newspaper reported. “We do understand that an Australian who has been in Yemen for some time has been kidnapped, but we don’t know the details,” Ms Bishop said.

McAllister reportedly spent seven years in Yemen and moved to Sanaa from the southern city of Taiz when the war broke out.

A local report said members of the football club players were urging “people of conscience, faith and wisdom to release him”.

[vuukle]