The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has threatened to withdraw the Super Eagles of Nigeria from the planned 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Libya.
The 2025 AFCON qualifiers are scheduled to take place at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium. The stadium, which has an artificial pitch, is located in the city of Benina, situated approximately 19 kilometers outside Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city.
Coach Augustine Eguavoen and his boys arrived at Al Abraq Airport instead of the airport in Benghazi on Sunday, October 13, ahead of the game. This means that they would have to travel three hours by road to get to their hotel in Benghazi.
To make matters worse for them, no security nor transportation was provided by the host country for the national team as they were left stranded at the Al Abraq Airport for over 15 hours.
Due to the ill-treatment ahead of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, the NFF is making plans to fly the Super Eagles back to Nigeria.
Also, the captain of the national team, William Troost-Ekong, had said he and his teammates have decided to boycott the match as he urged the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) to look into the report.
What would happen if the NFF succeeds in flying the Super Eagles back to Nigeria before the match:
If the NFF flies the Super Eagles back to Nigeria before the game on Tuesday, CAF is expected to award three points to Libya, who are yet to win a game after three matches. The Mediterranean Knights would also be awarded three goals against the Super Eagles on a platter.
On the other hand, if CAF deem that Libya acted against the law or intentionally frustrated the Super Eagles for over 15 hours, the football body is likely to punish the Libyan FA by slamming them with a fine and rescheduling the match.
Note that the Super Eagles beat Libya 1-0 in the first leg of the tie at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Friday.
The win left the Nigerian side at the top of Group D with 7 points in three games, while Libya remained bottom of the group with just a point. Read Full Details
