Why Nigeria soccer is boycotting its AFCON qualifying match against Libya
The Africa Cup of Nations is deep into qualifying to determine the 24-team field that will head to Morocco for next year's tournament. But we are seeing the ugly side of world soccer play out ahead of the scheduled match between Nigeria and Libya.
The Nigeria men's national team -- coming off Friday's 1-0 win against Libya -- was slated to fly to Benghazi for Monday's return match. Yet, the team never made it to Benghazi's Benina International Airport. Instead, the Super Eagles were stranded some 155 miles away in a last-minute diversion that they believed was intentional sabotage.
Here's what we know now.
What happened with that flight to Benghazi
According to the Nigeria Football Federation, the team's chartered plane was already in its final descent to Benghazi when the pilot received a last-minute diversion order. The plane then had to fly to Al Abraq Airport, which is about 155 miles away from Benghazi.
Upon landing at this other airport, players and staff were evidently stuck there without food and water for 16-plus hours.
Disgraceful what Libya has done. To divert a plane to a different airport and hold a national team hostage for 15 hours with no food, water, or any accommodations is criminal.
This is beyond football, and @CAF_Online must send a message with tough sanctions against Libya pic.twitter.com/Wq9jzm4Dx2— Colin NOT Collins 🇳🇬🇺🇸 (@ColinUdoh) October 14, 2024
What are the federations saying?
Upon being accused of intentionally sabotaging the travel situation for Nigeria, Libya's FA denied wrongdoing and urged Nigeria to continue on with the match. As it stood before Monday, Nigeria was atop the Group D table. Libya was in last. A win would clinch a berth in 2025's finals for Nigeria.
Via ESPN:
12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Lybia after our plane was diverted whilst descending. Lybian government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason.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. All to play mind games.
— William Troost-Ekong (M.O.N) (@WTroostEkong) October 14, 2024
Shortly after his tweets, he updated that a bus arrived to retrieve the team. However, the team decided to return to Nigeria.
Has CAF said anything yet?
As of now, CAF -- the African confederation -- has not made a public statement about the situation. The only acknowledgment has been a match schedule tweet that omitted Monday's Libya-Nigeria game.
The #AFCONQ2025 action doesn't stop. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ij4KhVu6Fj
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) October 14, 2024
What would a forfeit mean for Nigeria's qualifying hopes?
Currently, Nigeria is first place in Group D with a one-point lead in the standings over Benin. The top two teams from each group qualify, so Nigeria was able to afford a loss in this match to last-place Libya.
But really, CAF should have been more proactive in how it handled the entire saga. There's no excuse.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Nigeria soccer is boycotting its AFCON qualifying match against Libya
