Nigeria national team returns home after horror at Libya airport
Liam Carter
Dailysports's expert
Translated by the editors
The Nigerian national football team has safely returned home after an extremely unpleasant experience at a Libyan airport.
The "Super Eagles" players shared videos of their return to Nigeria on social media.
Recap: The Nigerian team had traveled to Libya for an AFCON qualifying match, but were unable to leave the airport. For unknown reasons, Libyan authorities did not grant flight clearance and refused to sell aviation fuel for Nigerian-registered planes scheduled to depart Libya.
The players even had to contact their respective clubs to arrange chartered flights. Fortunately, the Nigerian Football Federation managed to find a solution, allowing the team to eventually leave Libyan territory.
The match, which was supposed to take place tomorrow, has been canceled. Libya faces the risk of being handed a technical defeat, which would end their hopes of qualifying for AFCON 2025.
Nigeria's captain, William Troost-Ekong, expressed the team's intent to boycott the upcoming AFCON qualifier following the ordeal in Libya.
Additionally, Libyan Football Federation president Abdulhakim Al-Shalmani has submitted his resignation.
