Confederation of African Football, CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, has finally responded to the recent incident involving the Nigerian national team.
The Super Eagles were held at Al Abraq Airport in Libya for several hours ahead of their 2025 AFCON qualifier against the Libyan national team.
The Super Eagles were en route to Benghazi for the match when they encountered a distressing situation at the airport, leaving them stranded for more than thirteen hours.
Speaking on the matter, Motsepe revealed CAF is committed to investigating the incident and ensuring accountability.
“When there was this problem of the Nigerian national team in Libya, I will not comment on that because there is a proper investigation [going on], but I want to emphasise the principle we will not tolerate. Because this is something that has been going on for quite some time.”
“Forget about the Nigeria-Libya situation because it has been properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken. I have heard too many stories of a football club or a national team going to a country. You spend hours at the airport, and they ask you about documents that are not meant to be accessed.”
“And apparently, during Covid, they will look at the 10 best players from your team and say those players have Covid. These are lack of sportsmanship that has existed, and we have not taken effective action.”
CAF confirmed in an earlier statement that it had been in contact with both Libyan and Nigerian authorities, assuring that the matter had been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation.
The incident, which occurred ahead of Nigeria’s crucial second-leg AFCON qualifier against Libya, caused widespread outrage and led to the postponement of the match.
The Super Eagles were diverted to Al Abraq Airport, more than two hours from their intended destination, and left without transportation or assistance from the Libyan Football Federation.
