Close to 24 hours after they arrived in Libya for the 2025 Afcon qualifying match with their host, the Super Eagles of Nigeria could shake off a feeling of being mistreated, hence the team’s decision to pull out of the game without further delay. This happened three days after both countries played each other in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital – a game which the Nigerian side won via an 86th-minute lone goal scored by midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.

Before a last-minute diversion to the Al Abraq Airport in Libya on Sunday 13 October 2024, the Eagles expected to be landing at a different airport where they would have easily connected with earlier accommodation plans.

Having been told to head to a different location traditionally reserved for pilgrimage and one that seemed abandoned, it meant a clog in the wheel in their meticulous preparations for victory.

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Prior to the hiccups being witnessed, both countries had been scheduled for a return fixture meant to take place tomorrow by 08:00pm, but sadly it would no longer hold based on the Nigerians feeling mistreated.

This situation led to the players tweeting out posts emphasising a lack of regard and sportsmanship. Even as they did that, no reason was given by the Libyan Football Association to explain why their guests had to go through several problems such as having to sleep at the airport.

As of Monday morning, the arriving footballers were still at Al Abraq where they were tweeting out complaints directed to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The post by team captain, William Troost-Ekong reads that the Libyan government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason.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.

Libya as a country, internally and to outsiders is still seen as an unstable territory with many insecurity problems making it an unwelcoming place for visitors. A reason why officials of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission in particular want the team to return at the slightest chance possible.

The NFF cites that the host Libyan Football Federation failed to send any reception team or even vehicles to take the delegation members from the airport to their hotel, said to be 3 hours away in Benghazi.

Although the Nigerian Football Association made arrangements for separate vehicles for the team, according to a statement posted via its Instagram today, the plan was unhinged by the diversion of the aircraft. As a result of these issues, players have resolved not to play the match any longer, says the NFF, already busy making plans to fly the team back home.

With the Super Eagles’ experiences not looking like there would be an improvement, the move to return to Nigeria finally yielded positive results as the Chairperson of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Ms Abike Dabiri confirmed in a tweet.

In her role as NiDCOM’s head, she has seen several migrants trying to get to Europe from Nigeria ending up being trapped because they had opted for a difficult journey of heading to Europe through Libya illegally, and there they end up in unsafe hands of human traffickers looking to exploit them. Super Eagles team now boarding. Journey mercies to all of them ended Ms Dabiri’s tweet marking a bad situation looking resolved.

Super Eagles team now boarding . Journey mercies to all of them pic.twitter.com/1segYbY7GH

— abikedabiri (@abikedabiri) October 14, 2024

The next thing to be seen is how CAF responds to Libya’s failure to play the good host, which analysts observe sharply contrasts with how their team were fairly treated when they were in Akwa Ibom three days back.

Meiza Nigeria