THE Nigerian senior men’s football team, Super Eagles, have agreed to boycott its Africa Cup of Nations second-leg match with Libya.
Stand-in captain of the Super Eagles, Williams Troost-Ekong, revealed this on his X page Monday morning, “12 hours” after the team arrived at Al Abraq Airport Libya and was abandoned by the Libyan Football Federation.
The team chartered ValueJet aircraft from Nigeria and expected to touch down at the Benghazi Airport in the host country but was diverted to Al Abraq Airport, where they would travel by road for three hours before reaching Benghazi where the match would be played.
The ICIR reliably learnt that no official of the Libya Football Federation welcomed the players and their gaffers.
The Super Eagles defeated the Libyan Mediterranean Knights 1:0 at the Uyo Stadium on Friday, October 11 and hoped to be victorious again in the oil-rich North African nation.
Reacting, Troost-Ekong said his team was ready to concede the three points to Libya and would not risk the lives of its members.
“Twelve+ hours in an abandoned airport in Libya after our plane was diverted whilst descending. The Libyan government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without a phone connection, food or drink. All to play mind games.
“This kind of behaviour, let them have the points. We will not accept to travel anywhere by road here even with security it’s not safe. We can only imagine what the hotel or food would be like given to us if we continued.
Another player, Bright Osayi-Samuel, wrote on X, “I’ve been stuck in a random Libyan airport for 15 hours with no guarantee (to) health and safety…We can do better @caf.
Reports indicate that the Libyan authorities intentionally delayed the Nigerian team’s movement, with directives allegedly given to airport officials to keep the team at the Al Abaq Airport.
The ICIR reports that the development might not be unconnected with the incident that happened when the Libyan football team visited Nigeria last week to play the first leg of the qualifier.
On Tuesday, October 8, after landing in Uyo, the Libyan team voiced its dissatisfaction, alleging mistreatment by the NFF.
It complained that the NFF treated its members badly by taking them through a long, tortuous journey by road, from the Port Harcourt International Airport to Uvo in a vehicle without air conditioning.
According to reports, Libya’s national team captain, Faisal Al-Badri, publicly criticised their treatment upon arrival in Nigeria, stating that Nigerian officials had hindered their smooth entry into the country.
However, the NFF refuted the claims, insisting that the Libyan Football Federation created chaos for its own team.
NFF’s Assistant Director (Protocol), Emmanuel Ayanbunmi, stated that the Libyan Football Federation notified the NFF just three hours before the team’s arrival that the team would be landing in Port Harcourt instead of Uyo.
Ayanbunmi also said that the Libyan delegation disregarded the road transport arrangements provided by the NFF, opting instead to hire buses on its own.
Many Nigerians have also reacted with anger and disbelief at the treatment meted out to the Super Eagles.
While expressing their outrage, they called for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to investigate the incident and hold the Libyan authorities to account.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M