Nigeria to boycott AFCON qualifier against Libya after players claim they were left stranded at airport overnight

By Sam Joseph

Mon October 14, 2024

Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations - Final - Nigeria v Ivory Coast - Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara, Abidjan, Ivory Coast - February 11, 2024 Nigeria's Victor Osimhen and teammates look dejected after Ivory Coast's Franck Kessie scores their first goal REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

The Nigerian Football Federation said players were stranded at an airport for more than 15 hours.

The Nigeria men’s soccer team is back home after being stuck at a remote Libyan airport for over 15 hours, according to Nigeria’s football governing body and team captain William Troost-Ekong.

The Super Eagles are scheduled to play against host Libya in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in the city of Benghazi on Tuesday, but the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has stated the players have decided not to play the match.

In an Instagram post, the NFF said that the squad was stranded overnight at Al Abraq airport outside of Al Bayda, Libya. It had originally been set to land over 200 kilometers (roughly 124 miles) away in Benghazi.

“The chartered ValueJet aircraft was, strangely and in a dangerous manner, diverted to the small airport away from Benghazi just as the pilot was completing his approach to the Benghazi Airport,” said the NFF. “We understand the Al Abraq International Airport is only used for hajj operations.

“Fatigued players and officials have remained nonplussed as the host Libyan Football Federation (LFF) failed to send any reception team or even vehicles to take the delegation members from the airport to their hotel, said to be 3 hours away in Benghazi.”

The NFF added that transport had been organized for the team but was no longer in place due to the flight’s diversion.

According to Reuters, the LFF said that it has “utmost respect for our Nigerian counterparts” and claimed that the flight diversion was not intentional.

“We firmly reject any claims that suggest foul play or sabotage in this situation,” the LFF said. “We hope that this misunderstanding can be resolved with understanding and goodwill.”

Last week, the NFF released a statement rejecting claims of poor treatment in Nigeria made by Libya captain Faisal Al-Badri and insisted that the LFF “created chaos for its own team.”

CNN has reached out to the LFF and NFF for comment.

On Monday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) issued a statement noting the governing body had been in touch with both national teams and “had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (‘’Super Eagles’’) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities.”

The statement concluded, “The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”

Troost-Ekong said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the situation had been brought about as a result of “mind games.”

“12+ hours in an abandoned airport in (Libya) after our plane was diverted whilst descending,” he wrote early Monday. “(Libyan) government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food or drink.

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST - FEBRUARY 11: William Paul Ekong of Nigeria looks on during the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations final match between Nigeria and Ivory Coast at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara on February 11, 2024 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi

William Troost-Ekong in action for Nigeria earlier this year. Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi

“I’ve experienced stuff before playing away in Africa but this is disgraceful behavior. Even the Tunisian Pilot who thankfully managed to navigate the last minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land had never seen something like this before.

“This kind of behavior, let them have the points. We will not accept to travel anywhere by road here even with security it’s not safe,” the defender added later in the thread.

“We can only imagine what the hotel or food would be like given to us IF we continued. We respect ourselves and respect our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. Mistakes happen but these things on purpose have nothing to do with (international) football.”

The defender shared images of players attempting to sleep in the airport and implied once again that there had been a deliberate attempt to disrupt the team.

“We would NEVER treat a guest nation for a game in this way,” he said. “Mistakes happen, delays happen. But never on purpose!”

Later on Monday, Troost-Ekong said the team had traveled back to Nigeria.

BACK HOME 🇳🇬 SAFE & SOUND.

Proud of this team, NAIJA SPIRIT can’t be broken.

Throw at us what you want, it’s in our blood to overcome. Ive seen a lot in my 10 years with this group, but nothing like this, an experience that has brought us even closer TOGETHER. pic.twitter.com/AwGw4aQW2y

— William Troost-Ekong (M.O.N) (@WTroostEkong) October 14, 2024

While the alleged situation played out, Super Eagles and Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface described the team’s plight on X.

It is unclear what will happen if the match does not go ahead.

The Super Eagles defeated Libya 1-0 in the reverse fixture in Nigeria on Friday and are top of Group D with 7 points, while Libya is at the bottom of the standings on one point. Benin and Rwanda are second and third in the group respectively.