The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says it has launched an investigation into the “disturbing” treatment of Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the Al Abraq airport in Libya.
The continental football governing body in an official statement on Monday said it had been in contact with both Libyan and Nigerian authorities to address the issue.
CAF said it had referred the matter to its Disciplinary Board for investigation and promised to take action against those responsible for violating its statutes and regulations.
“CAF has been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it was informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (‘Super Eagles) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport where they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities.
“The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations,” the statement by CAF indicated.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Super Eagles team and officials were held at the Al Abaq airport since Sunday evening upon their arrival in Libya for the second leg of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match.
The ValueJet chartered aircraft conveying the team was diverted from landing at the Benghazi Airport, and redirected to land at the Al Abraq Airport.
The team and officials were subsequently left stranded at the Al Abraq Airport for more than 18 hours without food, water, and other basic supplies upon arrival on Sunday.
Reacting to the situation, the Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan Enoh on Monday strongly condemned the “obnoxious” treatment of the Super Eagles and said he had escalated the matter and involved all relevant authorities such as the Foreign Affairs Minister, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the Director General of Nigeria Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed, and CAF.
Following the ugly development, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced that the players had resolved not to play the match any longer and plans were underway to fly them back to Nigeria.
The Super Eagles who currently top Group D of the qualifiers with 7 points, were billed to trade tackles with hosts, the Mediterranean Knights of Libya on Tuesday evening in the return leg of the 2025 AFCON Qualifier match.
The first leg in Uyo on Friday ended with Nigeria going home with a hard-earned 1-0 win over their North African counterparts. (NAN)
