Nigeria’s refusal to play their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification fixture in Libya after alleged “inhumane treatment” of their squad and eventual return home has overshadowed Algeria and Cameroon qualifying for the 2025 football finals.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed on Monday that their national team had returned home after their long “ordeal” at a deserted 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.
NFF director of communications, Ademola Olajire, outlined in a 20-point statement the team’s “ordeal on Libyan soil”, saying the “keenly-anticipated match” had been “relegated to a fiasco by Libyan federal authorities and Football Federation”.
The Nigerian team were held at an abandoned airport in Libya for more than 20 hours after their chartered flight landed on Sunday.
The Super Eagles had been due to land in Benghazi, but their plane was diverted to al-Abraq, 230km (143 miles) away from their intended destination.
Nigeria’s captain William Troost-Ekong had said the team would not make a three-hour bus ride from al-Abraq to Benina, where the qualifier was scheduled to be played on Tuesday, for safety reasons.
“As the team captain together with the team we have decided that we will NOT play this game,” he wrote in a series of social media posts.
“Let them have the points.”
Later on Monday, Troost-Ekong confirmed his team’s return home, but insisted “no team should be mistreated this way”.
“Football is about respect, and that starts by respecting ourselves,” he wrote.
BACK HOME 🇳🇬 SAFE & SOUND.
Proud of this team, NAIJA SPIRIT can’t be broken.
Throw at us what you want, it’s in our blood to overcome. Ive seen a lot in my 10 years with this group, but nothing like this, an experience that has brought us even closer TOGETHER. pic.twitter.com/AwGw4aQW2y— William Troost-Ekong (M.O.N) (@WTroostEkong) October 14, 2024
Libya denies mistreatment as CAF launches inquiry
A formal complaint by Nigeria has been sent to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), whose disciplinary board is now investigating the incident.
CAF said it viewed “the disturbing and unacceptable experiences of the Nigerian National Football Team at an airport in Libya in a very serious light”.
The statement added that CAF had been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities.
“Appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations,” the statement concluded.
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 are bottom of the standings with one point.
The Libyan Football Federation denied any impropriety, saying in a statement it had the “utmost respect” for Nigeria.
“There are no grounds to accuse the Libyan security teams or the Libyan Football Federation of deliberately orchestrating this incident,” it said.
“Such actions are inconsistent with our values and principles.
“We firmly reject any claims that suggest foul play or sabotage in this situation.”
The Libyan football body said its team “faced significant challenges upon arrival in Nigeria” last week.
Algeria, Cameroon confirm qualification with wins
Meanwhile, Cameroon and Algeria sealed their spots in the 2025 competition after recording wins in their respective group matches on Monday.
In Group J, Cameroon substitute Boris Enow beat Kenya goalkeeper Bryne Omondi off a free kick outside the area to give the five-time AFCON title holders a 1-0 win and qualification.
Second-placed Zimbabwe beat Namibia 3-1 to move four points ahead of Kenya in the fight for the other qualifying place. The rivals meet next month in the penultimate round.
Group E saw two-time AFCON champions Algeria beat Togo 1-0 in Lome after Borussia Dortmund defender Ramy Bensebaini converted an 18th-minute penalty.
Algeria have a maximum of 12 points from four outings and second-placed Equatorial Guinea are likely to join them as Dorian Hanza’s goal in added time gave his side a 2-1 win against Liberia in Paynesville and a five-point advantage over Togo.
Captain Elias “Domingues” Pelembe, who turns 41 in November, opened the scoring for Mozambique in a 3-0 Group I victory over Eswatini. It moved the Mambas above Mali to first place.
Four-time champions Ghana are fighting for survival in the race for qualification and will face Sudan in a key Group F match.
Al Jazeera will have live text coverage for the fixture from 10:00 GMT.
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