Nigeria’s players will boycott their upcoming African Cup of Nations qualifier after claiming they were locked in an airport in Libya for 12 hours “without food or drink.” The Super Eagles were due to face Libya in an AFCON qualifier on Tuesday evening but will now refuse to play the match after their flight into the country was diverted to a smaller airport, where they remained stuck for hours.
The Nigeria squad, which includes Premier League stars such as Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi, Nottingham Forest duo Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi, and Fulham’s Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey, was scheduled to land in Benghazi but instead saw their plane sent to Al Abraq Airport, about two hours away.
Players then posted on social media stating that no transportation was provided by Libyan authorities, there was no food or drink available, and the airport gate was locked, leaving them stranded. The situation arose after Libyan players claimed they were treated poorly in Nigeria ahead of the Super Eagles’ 1-0 win over the weekend, which was denied by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), who have since released a statement announcing their boycott of Tuesday’s match.
The NFF statement read: “The delegation of Nigeria to Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya remained at Al Abraq Airport for 12 hours after landing in Libya. The chartered ValueJet aircraft was, strangely and in a dangerous manner, diverted to the small airport away from Benghazi just as the pilot was completing his approach to Benghazi Airport. We understand that Al Abraq International Airport is primarily used for Hajj operations.
“Fatigued players and officials have remained nonplussed as the host Libyan Football Federation failed to send any reception team or vehicles to transport the delegation members from the airport to their hotel, which is reportedly three hours away in Benghazi. The NFF had made arrangements for separate vehicles for the team, but this plan was disrupted by the aircraft’s diversion. Players have resolved not to play the match any longer as NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home.”
Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong articulated the issues faced by the squad in a series of posts on Twitter/X. Troost-Ekong wrote: “12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Libya after our plane was diverted while descending. The Libyan government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi without reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food, or drink. All to play mind games.
https://twitter.com/WTroostEkong/status/1845741139858477368
https://twitter.com/WTroostEkong/status/1845716878016025057
“I’ve experienced challenges before playing away in Africa, but this is disgraceful behavior. Even the Tunisian pilot, who thankfully managed to navigate the last-minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land, had never seen anything like this before.
Upon arrival, he tried to find a nearby airport to rest with his crew, only to be denied at every hotel under government instruction. He could sleep there, but NO NIGERIAN crew members were allowed. They have returned to sleep on the plane, which is parked.
“At this point, we have called on our Nigerian government to intervene and rescue us. As the captain, together with the team, we have decided that we will NOT play this game. CAF should look at the report and what is happening here. Even if they decide to allow it.
“This kind of behavior? Let them have the points. We will not accept traveling anywhere by road here; even with security, it’s not safe. We can only imagine what the hotel or food would be like if we continued. We respect ourselves and our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. Mistakes happen, but these intentional acts have nothing to do with international football.”
