Nigeria vs Libya and the airport debacle
Nigeria and Libyan teams face horrible treatment off the pitch ending with the Super Eagles boycotting a match.
If someone ever tells you the international break is boring, send them this article.
In the early hours of Monday morning, many of us woke up in horror to a series of tweets from William Troost-Ekong. The Nigerian captain, who earlier this year scored in an AFCON final and was player of the tournament, was detailing a nightmare ordeal where he and his Super Eagle teammates had been locked in an abandoned Libyan airport for over 12 hours with no food, water or access to the internet.
Over the next few hours, Troost-Ekong and teammates Victor Boniface, Bright Osayi-Samuel would detail online how the team was trying to get out of the airport but were stopped at every turn by the Libyan authorities. They even made the claim that when their Tunisian pilot tried to secure accommodation in Al Bayda (roughly 100 miles from their original destination), he was told that every hotel was under instruction to refuse accommodation to the Nigerian team and flight crew (though not the Tunisian pilot).
So, what happened? Why were they in an abandoned airport miles from Benghazi where they were meant to be playing Libya in the AFCON qualifiers? And why on earth were they receiving such inhumane treatment?
Tit for tat
To understand the situation, we have to make a short trip back in time to Thursday night.
It’s matchday three in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 qualifiers and Nigeria are hosting Libya in a double header that would see the teams return to Benghazi a couple days later for the reverse fixture. Both teams are under a lot of pressure after a poor start to the qualifiers and the World Cup qualifiers.
The match is to be played in Uyo in the south eastern corner of Nigeria. The Libyan team set out on a chartered flight to Nigeria but instead of landing in Uyo, the plane lands in Port Harcourt, more than 60 miles west. On arrival there is no one to meet them, no Nigerian delegation and no transport.
And that is where the facts we have end. From here our story enters a fog of accusations, confusion and hostility.
According to Libyan media and the captain of the Libyan national team, Faisal Al Badri, the flight was redirected from Uyo to Port Harcourt by the Nigerian authorities. With no provisions made by the Nigerian Federation, the Libyans contacted the travel company organising the flight who told them there was no police escort to pick them up so the team had to wait three hours before three minivans arrived with a police escort, as well as two private cars from the Libyan Embassy.
https://twitter.com/LibyanFootball3/status/1846059976051052890
According to the Libyans, in order to avoid the numerous police checkpoints along the road to Uyo, they were driven five hours through rural back roads before finally arriving in at their destination. The team then played after minimal sleep and preparation against the AFCON finalists and nearly claimed a famous draw before Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s 86th minute goal saved the hosts and earned them a vital three point.
But Libya’s stresses were not done. On leaving Lagos the next day the team was held up once again for several hours while their bags were all thoroughly checked by Nigerian customs, including officials opening players’ protein powder cannisters before allowing the team to fly.
It is important to note that while many of the players and media in Libya hold the Nigerian Federation and authorities responsible for their treatment, the NFF contest these claims.
According to the Nigerian Federation, the Libyan flight was not redirected to Port Harcourt but was always planned to go there. They also said that they had buses and a welcoming party ready in Uyo but found out an hour before arrival that the destination was Port Harcourt and not Uyo. They then arranged for an internal flight for the Libyan team which was rejected because it was too expensive before rejecting the buses that the Nigerians provided, instead arranging their own transport.
It's hard to pick apart to understand who is telling the truth and who is lying and in many things the truth is likely somewhere in the middle and likely there is fault, miscommunication and incompetence on both sides. Regardless, there is now bad blood between the teams, federations and countries and voices from both countries were already foreshadowing problems when the Super Eagles would travel to Libya for the reverse fixture.
Which brings us to Monday when, as in the Libyan account of arrival, Troost-Ekong claimed that as the flight was descending into Benghazi, they were told by air traffic control to make an emergency change and land in Al Abraq airport, this despite the captain notifying traffic control that they had dangerously low fuel.
Now Al Abraq was not “abandoned” as Troost-Ekong stated, but it also isn’t an active commercial airport as it is almost exclusively used for flights for Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. And so while not being abandoned, the Nigerian plane was the only one on the runway and there were no basic amenities like food, water and Wi-Fi.
The team’s luggage was thoroughly searched and again, as in Port Harcourt, there is no Libyan delegation to meet them nor any transport. The team is locked in the airport and have no way of leaving. And again, in a near mirror image of what happened to the Libyan national team, there are actually a couple very small mini-vans provided to the Super Eagles but the team refused to use them.
Finally, after 15 hours of being stuck in the airport, Troost-Ekong announces that the team will not play the game the following day, regardless of whether they can leave the airport and that they will return home. Eventually the plane refuels (again after the airport initially lied about not having fuel according to Troost-Ekong) and the team flies back to Nigeria.
What now
Long airport stays and shenanigans by home teams and nations, are nothing new to African football. In 2020 the Gabon national team was held in Gambia for over eight hours apparently due to issues with their COVID-19 tests. In Libya there have been multiple instances of club teams facing problems including, long airport stays, last minute location changes, no food or water in hotels and in Marumo Gallants’ case last year in the Confederation Cup, they even had some staff held hostage by a hotel over unpaid bills. Eventually the South African government had to get involved to secure the release of the staff.
What makes this case different is William Troost-Ekong. His willingness to post online about their treatment to his more than 700,000 followers on social media, as well as his standing as a former Premier League player representing Africa’s largest and highest profile nation meant that this story turned from a minor note in African qualifying to making global headlines.
The second aspect that makes it unique is that the team refused to play which is nearly unprecedented. No matter what the incident, football in Africa and the world stops for no one (see Greece being forced to play a day after one of their premier league players died suddenly). Whether it is Marumo Gallants, missing almost half the team who got stuck in Istanbul in transit to Tripoli or even the Togolese national team who were forced to play after their team bus was shot at (and their coach hit by a bulltet) at the 2010 AFCON in Angola, CAF always wants games to go ahead.
With the backing of his teammates, federation and using standing in the global game, Troost-Ekong was able to make a very brave decision to boycott the game but it does put Nigeria in a difficult position. While they were treated awfully, the Libyans likely have plausible deniability. Afterall, it was for “security reasons” that the flight was diverted. They did provide transport for the team, even if it was the dreadful mini-buses that came 12 hours late.
There is also a very justified feeling of hurt from the Libyan side. While we don’t know who was ultimately at fault for it, they similarly experienced awful treatment in Nigeria but continued to play their match which they lost. For many Libyans there is an anger that Nigerians can boycott games because they are superstars, but if the Libyans tried it, their case would be dismissed and them punished.
As for CAF, the matter has been referred to their disciplinary committee who have a lot of unpicking to do. When looking at precedents, it would be expected that Nigeria could receive a points deduction, or at minimum, the game will likely be awarded as a 3-0 Libya win. Libya may also receive a stadium ban or even be unable to play home games in Libya for a time as well as a fine.
While both Troost-Ekong and Al Badri showed bravery and leadership in posting about their harrowing experiences what perhaps concerns me about both their posts is that they both claimed that only their own countries show hospitality.
“We respect ourselves and respect our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. Mistakes happen but these things on purpose have nothing to do with int. football.,” said Troost-Ekong on X. While Al Badri, in his Facebook post stated, “And we receive teams and selections, the best reception in the best airports, the best transportation companies, the best hotels, and the best treatment?”
At best, it seems that Troost-Ekong had no idea what the Libyans went through, and Al Badri is unaware of the previous challenges that teams have faced in Libya. Instead of putting pressure on their own countries, federations and CAF, their rhetoric is being taken up online and used as fuel for hatred and division something that is the very antithesis of football in Africa.