The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has condemned Nigeria’s decision to withdraw from the scheduled 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, threatening to take legal action to protect its national team’s interests.
The Super Eagles pulled out of the match, initially set for October 15, citing safety concerns after being stranded for over 13 hours at Al Abaq Airport following an unexpected diversion.
In a statement shared by The Libya Observer, the LFF accused the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) of not cooperating in organising the match and creating confusion that led to the current situation.
The LFF emphasised that it would pursue legal measures to defend its national team’s rights.
The LFF’s statement criticised the NFF for refusing to play the match despite incidents during the first leg, where the Libyan team faced challenging conditions in Nigeria.
The LFF attached footage showing their team persevering through these difficulties to play the first leg.
The LFF also apologised to Libyan football fans for the confusion, blaming the NFF for the delays and stating that Nigeria’s actions prevented the match from being held on time.
This controversy followed viral images of the Nigerian team sleeping on benches at the Libyan airport.
Nigerian authorities and Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong condemned the poor conditions, accusing Libyan authorities of deliberately revoking their landing permit and leaving the team stranded without access to basic necessities like food, water, or proper rest.
Troost-Ekong described the situation as “disgraceful” and suggested that the team had been subjected to “mind games.”