Nigeria’s players have announced they are boycotting Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier with Libya after being stranded at the airport for more than 12 hours.
Super Eagles players and staff left for Libya on Sunday night, but were diverted to Al Abraq Airport instead of their original destination Benghazi Airport, which is more than 200 and a half kilometers from where they were staying. It is three hours away.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) claimed in a statement that they were stranded at Al Abraq airport overnight on Sunday, with some players suggesting they were left without food and water.
Nigeria were scheduled to play Libya in Benghazi on Tuesday night, but the Super Eagles have said they plan to fly home instead of playing the match.
“Nigeria’s delegation for Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya is still stuck at Al Abraq airport, 12 hours after landing in Libya,” the statement read.
“The chartered ValuJet aircraft was, strangely and dangerously, diverted to a smaller airport away from Benghazi just as the pilot was completing his approach to Benghazi Airport. We understand that Al Abraq International Airport Used only for Hajj operations.
“The exhausted players and officials are frustrated because the host Libyan Football Federation failed to send any reception team or even vehicles to take members of the delegation from the airport to their hotel, a 3-hour drive to Benghazi Is at a distance of.
“The NFF had arranged separate vehicles for the team, but the plan failed due to diversion of the aircraft. The players have now resolved not to play the match as the NFF officials plan to fly the team back home. “
Nigeria defender William Truist-Ekong, formerly of Watford, tweeted: “For over 12+ hours at an abandoned airport in Libya our plane was diverted upon landing by the Libyan government for no reason Our approved landing in Benghazi was aborted.
“They have locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food or drinks. This is all to play mind games.
“I have experienced many things before playing in Africa, but this is outrageous behaviour. Even the Tunisian pilots, who were not suitable for landing our plane, had to go to the airport for a last-minute change. They managed to, they had never seen anything like it before.
“On arrival he tried to find the nearest airport to rest with his crew, so under government instruction he was forbidden to go to every hotel again. He could have slept there, but the Nigerian crew None of the members were allowed to sleep on the plane.
“At this point we have asked our Nigerian government to intervene and save us. As captains together with the team we have decided that we will not play this game. CAF should look at the report and see what is happening here.
“Even if they decide to allow such behaviour, let them give points. We will not accept traveling anywhere by road here, even with security it is not safe. We only Can imagine what kind of hotel or food we would get if we continued.
“We respect ourselves and respect our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. Mistakes happen but these things done deliberately have nothing to do with [international] soccer.”
‘There is anger in Nigeria’
Nigerian journalist Cecilia Omorogbe speaks to Sky Sports News from Lagos:
“According to what the Libyan government and the football federation tweeted, they said that it is actually normal for flights to be diverted to land in another city. They are working as hard as they can to keep the game going.
“But the Nigerian team is doing a lot of diplomacy to ensure that the players can go back home. They do not want the players to play the game and come home successfully. They have been left at the airport for more than 15 hours and they have to It is not even certain when they will leave.
“We, in Nigeria, pray for the safety of the players. This is not a kidnapping or hostage situation, but the fact that they have been left unattended at the airport, where they are supposed to be picked up and where they need to go, There is no delegation to take there.
“And we know that in Libya, there’s a war going on, it’s not really safe to go across the city by road or by bus. There’s outrage in Nigeria, we’re all really sad.
“Most Nigerians are standing behind the players and telling them not to play the game. They are not in a mental state. The players need to be protected and they need to be assured that the players will be safe and treated fairly What doesn’t seem to be happening in the last 15 hours.”
