CAF views the disturbing and unacceptable experiences of the Nigerian National Football Team (‘’Super Eagles’’) at an airport in Libya in a very serious light
Published: Monday, 14 October 2024
The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (‘’Super Eagles’’) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that 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.
Disgraceful what Libya has done. To divert a plane to a different airport and hold a national team hostage for 15 hours with no food, water, or any accommodations is criminal.
This is beyond football, and @CAF_Online must send a message with tough sanctions against Libya
To be clear, Libyan complaints about NFF treatment are completely unfounded.
Here is a short summary in the next few posts:
1. They communicated that they would arrive in Uyo
2. One hour to landing, they changed plans and communicated they would land in PH instead
3. NFF then made arrangements with federal aviation authorities to have the plane cleared to land in Uyo at a different time
4. Libya chose to not fly any further and go by road to save on the additional charter fee
5. It was still the same chartered aircraft they were in, and if they had just taken off and flown another 15-20 minutes, there would be no talk of a road trip
6. Their road arrangements were made by their own people on the ground, not NFF
So, at what point here did the NFF not, at the very least, try to accommodate them?
Travel sabotage accusations add spice to second Nigeria v Libya AFCON qualifier
A spicy dimension has been added to the reverse fixture of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between Nigeria and Libya, with each sides accusing the other of pre-match travel sabotage.
The Super Eagles' airplane, which was originally scheduled to land in Benghazi for the second leg of the two-match series, was diverted to a different airport 240 kilometres east, according to team spokesman Promise Efoghe.
"About an hour to landing, the Nigerian aircraft approaching its destination Benghazi was diverted to another city more than two-hour drive from the original destination," Efoghe said.
Libyan authorities could not be reached for comment on why the Nigerian aircraft was diverted, while the delegations of Ghana and Sudan, who are playing the same day in the same city, were allowed to land.
Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong tweeted on Monday: "12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Lybia after our plane was diverted whilst descending. Lybian government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason.
"They've locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food or drink. All to play mind games."
Conversely, Libya captain Faisal Al-Badri claimed that the team were treated badly in Nigeria ahead of the Super Eagles' 1-0 win, and called for 'reciprocity'.
"Our luggage was searched inside the plane for an hour, and we were also delayed in transportation from one city to another for three hours, even though we travelled on a private plane, and there was an airport close to the city we wanted to play in," he said.
"After a long time, three non-air-conditioned minibuses and a police car arrived, in addition to two cars from the Libyan embassy.
"The question is, how long will we continue to receive this kind of reception? While other teams are received in the best airports and hotels, should we always be patient in the face of these things?
"We have suffered from this problem for many years, and although we are willing to tolerate it, there must be a solution to these practices. We demand that the relevant authorities look into these actions, and we express the need for reciprocity."
But those claims were disputed by the NFF. Emmanuel Ayabunmi, the NFF's Director of Protocol, told ESPN that the Libyans were the architects of their own chaos.
Ayabunmi said: "I spoke to the General Secretary of LFF, at length, on Monday and he never hinted that his team would be arriving on Tuesday (the following day). He only said he would get back to me but he never did.
"On Monday evening, someone sent as an advance party by the LFF called me and said his team would be arriving on Tuesday by noon. We made all arrangements to receive the team in Uyo on arrival.
"It was only an hour after the team was airborne that he told me the delegation would be landing in Port Harcourt. That disrupted so many things, but we still raced on hurdles to get approval from federal authorities to allow their plane to fly them to Uyo once they concluded immigration formalities in Port Harcourt.
"Apparently, that would have meant additional cost to the LFF from the charter company, and they didn't want that, so they preferred to travel from Port Harcourt to Uyo by road."
The issue leaked into the game, where the teams spent most of the game in time-wasting gamesmanship, until Fisayo Dele-Bashiro broke the deadlock with four minutes of time left. And they were left incensed when the referee added just four minutes of additional time.
Nigeria coach Austin Eguavoen says his team would not be distracted by the off-field shenanigans for the second fixture: "As someone who travelled around Africa playing for the national team, and also coached, we have seen worse things.
"We just have to keep the boys focused and rested and prepared for the game. We have a task to get six points from these two games. We have done half of it, now we have to focus on doing the other half. It is unfortunate that things like this are still allowed to happen, but we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted."
Eguavoen's immediate task is to fashion out how to get the best out of misfiring forward Victor Boniface. The former defender has backed his striker to get goals if he plays more direct, and said he would need some help from the bench.
"Boniface is a good finisher, a clinical striker, but he has struggled in national colours," Eguavoen acknowledged. "Sometimes these chances don't come easy.
"I remember it happened in Rwanda and again against Libya. When you get a half chance, a striker like Romario would toe-poke the ball. But he wants to dress it and then the defenders recover. So if he decides on time, I think he will score a lot of goals. I will speak to him about it."
With Taiwo Awoniyi not faring any better after coming on, Eguavoen's options appear limited, and he is likely to give the Bayer Leverkusen man another chance to show he can fill the big boots of injured Victor Osimhen.
Nigeria's recent away record in qualifying have been less than flattering, but Eguavoen has shown a knack for navigating the perilous waters of African football.
Three points in Libya would seal qualification, but he and his team would be just as happy with one, which would leave them with more than enough runway to finish the job on the next qualifying pass.
If you are a Nigerian in Libya right now, and you no get paper or your paper don expire... Ogbeni, hide yourself inside house from now till 2 weeks time...
This has been a common practice in North Africa. Last year the Ghanaian Under 17 team's dressing room was sprayed with chemicals at half time in Morocco.
Ghana Female U17 Team Forced to Dress Outside After Dressing Room Was Sprayed with Chemicals in Morocco; Video
Lukman Mumuni updated at April 12, 2023
The Black Maidens of Ghana endured a torrid time in Morocco before the second leg of their World Cup qualifier The team were made to dress outside after the dressing room was sprayed with chemicals making it difficult for the team to breathe Ghana ended up losing to the North Africans and failed to qualify for the World Cup in India later this year The Black Maidens of Ghana were given poor treatment by hosts Morocco before the second leg of their World Cup qualifier.
In a video posted on Twitter, spotted by Sports Brief, the players are seen sitting on the grounds as they received their jackets before walking onto the pitch.
"Our dressing room sprayed with chemicals and we had to sit outside through the break," posted on Twitter by the female national football teams handle.
The girls had to be calmed by officials of the team as they looked intimidated by what was going on just moments before the game.
The Black Maidens travelled to Rabat with a 2-0 advantage but ended up losing 4-2 to their Moroccan counterparts to miss out on the World Cup.
Masandawana have responded to accusations that the club did not fulfil their obligations as hosts
The battle between Mamelodi Sundowns and Wydad Casablanca is slowly becoming one of the fiercest rivalries on the continent.
While Masandawana overcame the Moroccans this past weekend, this has done little to quash the war of words of the field.
According to reports doing the rounds, Wydad were reportedly victims of gamesmanship as they were allegedly left without transport when they arrived in the country.
However, following the fiery encounter that saw tempers flare up during and after the final whistle at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, Sundowns’ acting General Manager Yogesh Singh has explained the club’s version of events.
Singh reveals that the 2017 Caf Champions League winners did not communicate adequately with their hosts regarding the date of their arrival.
“They didn’t tell us when they are arriving,” Singh told Independent Media.
“We had everything booked for them. When we found out they were in the country, we arranged everything for them. It’s about communication. There was a failure in communication,” he added.
“The rules say they must communicate their itinerary to the Moroccan federation, who must tell Safa, and Safa will tell us,” he explained.
Meanwhile, there has been a lot of talk about what Sundowns can expect when they visit Casablanca in their final game of qualifying, but Singh suggests that the club are already preparing themselves for the gamesmanship that will be expected.
“We make the arrangements. They didn’t tell us. We have our plans, and we have plan B (for Morocco),” he concluded.
In the aftermath of victory over Wydad, Sundowns are now back in contention in Group A as they look to seal a place in the knockout rounds and eventually lift the title which they have won just once, back in 2016.
Mamelodi Sundowns accuse Wydad Casablanca of gamesmanship
Yusuf Variava 21 Sept 2017
Masandawana are clearly not pleased by the way the club have been treated in Morocco
Mamelodi Sundowns' preparations for the second leg of the Caf Champions League quarterfinal encounter has been hampered by Wydad Casablanca's relentless shenanigans.
Masandawana arrived in Rabat earlier this week, but have been sent from pillar to post in search of a suitable training venue after their hosts failed to provide one, but after spending the whole of Wednesday looking for a venue, the Brazilians are finally able to begin their preparations ahead of the crunch encounter.
Sundowns officials have not been pleased with Wydad's gamesmanship and it was previously reported that management had written a strongly worded letter to the South African Football Association (Safa) expressing their displeasure and pleading with Caf to help.
Article continues below “They have been messing around‚” Sundowns spokesman Thulani Thuswa told Times Media on Thursday.
“They didn’t provide us with a training pitch and we had to look for one ourselves. Yesterday (on Wednesday) we drove all around Rabat the whole day looking for a pitch. Eventually we found one – at the Stade du FUS‚ which is the old pitch that used to be used by FUS Rabat. On our first day here (Tuesday) we didn’t train. We even told Wydad that if they could not provide us a pitch we had an option to train at the old FUS Rabat pitch‚ but they said‚ ‘No‚ no‚ you can’t because the lights don’t work there’,” he explained.
“Then we went to train there yesterday and the lights worked fine. Our advance party even arrived two days before the team‚ and in that time, they could also not find a pitch available,” he added.
“But we believe that Morocco does not have a very good relationship with SA. Apparently, it stems back to SA winning the right to host the 2010 World Cup. And also‚ gamesmanship is a big thing here. The bus they gave us was sh*t – it was a grey, old, stinky bus. So, we’ve got another one at our own expense,” he lamented.
According to reports, there is suspicion that Wydad had called several officials around Rabat asking them not to avail training venues.
“The official reason the Moroccans have given us is that the national team has not been doing well because of poor pitches‚ and that they need to preserve all the pitches for the national team‚” Thuswa said.
“The thing is‚ when they came to SA‚ we treated them really well. We gave them police escorts‚ we had (Sundowns official) Alex Shakoane and drivers stationed permanently with them to attend to their needs. Here we have had no police escorts," he continued.
"We have this guy who drives our van with our kit in‚ Ashraf‚ and he’s the one who shows us where to go.”
Despite all the uncertainty created, Thuswa maintains that the players are in good spirits and that the adversity could motivate Sundowns players even further.
“I believe so‚ because I have seen that in all the countries that treat us like this‚ we come out victorious,” he expressed.
“The players are not affected at all. When we can’t find a pitch they go and do match analysis‚ and there’s a gym and a pool at the hotel. So, people use their time constructively,” he concluded.
there's always a silly story from CAF, NNPC, PRESIDINCY, JAMB, EFCC,, POLICE, ARMY, DSS, APC, SENATE, ARMY name them.. there is nothing that works as they should In 🇳🇬
We are d giants of Africa and stuffs like these happen. Its a pitiable bismal dismal, increibly ludicrous If u ask someone, she will tell u they went thru what they did becos they are lazy youths
Libya should be playing ball with cows,camel, Donkey, and the likes or they should focus their energy on terrorism... Nigerian team should not go there again henceforth... I no fit type RIP ooo
I’m interested in seeing how this plays out. If Libya is awarded those points, NFF should pull out from the competition because CAF will be proven to be a joke.
omoredia: Nigeria is at fault. na nation where people can protest 87 per liter fuel but keep quiet with over 1k per liter fuel is a country of wicked people and liars
We are talking football he is talking fuel price, you dey okay at all?
there's always a silly story from CAF, NNPC, PRESIDINCY, JAMB, EFCC,, POLICE, ARMY, DSS, APC, SENATE, ARMY name them.. there is nothing that works as they should In 🇳🇬
