Nigeria’s participation in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification has been overshadowed by an incident involving the Super Eagles in Libya, where the team faced alleged “inhumane treatment” at a deserted airport, Al Jazeera reports.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) confirmed on Monday that the national team had returned home after their “ordeal” at an abandoned airport in Libya.
“The Nigeria delegation departed the Al Abraq Airport at exactly 15.05 hours [13:05 GMT], bound for the city of Kano, and onwards to the Federal Capital, Abuja,” the NFF said in a statement.
The team’s “ordeal on Libyan soil” was outlined in a 20-point statement by NFF director of communications, Ademola Olajire, who accused Libyan authorities and the Football Federation of turning the “keenly-anticipated match” into a “fiasco.”
The Super Eagles landed at an abandoned airport in Libya after their chartered flight was diverted from Benghazi. They were held at the airport for over 20 hours. Nigeria’s captain, William Troost-Ekong, declared that the team would not make a three-hour bus ride from the airport to Benina, where the qualifier was scheduled to be played on Tuesday, citing safety concerns.
Following the incident, Troost-Ekong confirmed the team’s return home, stating that “no team should be mistreated this way.”
A formal complaint by Nigeria has been sent to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), whose disciplinary board is investigating the incident.
CAF described the “disturbing and unacceptable experiences” of the Nigerian National Football Team at the Libyan airport as “very serious” and confirmed that it had been in contact with Libyan and Nigerian authorities.
Despite the controversy, Algeria and Cameroon successfully secured their spots in the 2025 AFCON competition. Cameroon defeated Kenya 1-0 in Group J, while Algeria beat Togo 1-0 in Group E.
