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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced it will fly the national team home Monday after reports of “inhumane treatment” in Libya ahead of a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
“Players have decided not to participate in the match any longer, and NFF officials are making arrangements to return the team to Nigeria,” said NFF Director of Communications Ademola Olajire.
Additionally, Nigeria has filed a formal complaint with the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Nigerian team has been stranded at an abandoned airport in Libya for over 15 hours since their chartered flight arrived Sunday.
The Nigerian Embassy in Libya reportedly cannot intervene, as they would need permission from the Libyan government to do so.
Captain William Troost-Ekong said the team will not play the game and will not make the three-hour bus ride from al-Abraq to Benina, where the qualifier is scheduled to be played Tuesday, for safety reasons.
“As the team captain, together with the team, we have decided that we will NOT play this game,” he posted on social media. “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 if we continued.”
Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Ikpeba, who accompanied the team to Libya, has urged for stiff sanctions against Libya and supported the decision to boycott the match.
“If CAF knows their job, Libya ought to be banned from international football,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “This is a high-risk country, and one really wonders who approved for Libya to be playing their games at home. I played for the Super Eagles for 10 years, and I never experienced what I have in Libya in the last hours.”
“The team is not safe; those of us traveling with them are also not safe,” he added. “We were locked up in an abandoned airport for more than 10 hours like hostages. The team will call off their bluff and not play this match.”
On Friday, Nigeria beat Libya 1-0 in the southern city of Uyo. They lead Group D with seven points from three matches, while Libya sits at the bottom of the standings with one point.
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Emil Kovács graduated from the Journalism program at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. During his journalism studies, he focused on data journalism, investigative reporting, and multimedia storytelling. He gained experience by writing for the university’s student newspaper, where he gained attention for his articles on social issues. After graduation, Emil began working as a reporter at a European news agency, where he conducts in-depth analyses of international news and current events.
