AFCON Qualifier: CAF To Decide Libya Vs Nigeria Case Wednesday

The Confederation of African Football will make an announcement on Wednesday, October 23, about the canceled AFCON qualification Group D match between Libya and Nigeria, which was scheduled for October 15 at Benina Martyrs Stadium in Libya.

Team Nigeria arrived for the match on Sunday, October 14, only to have their flight redirected to Al Abraq International Airport, which is almost three hours by car from Benghazi, the venue of the match. The Libyan authorities detained them for about 17 hours, leaving them distraught as they went back to their own nation.

Nigeria filed a protest with CAF, bemoaning their situation, and the Libyan Federation stated that the Nigerians did not collaborate with them in any manner, whether in the first or second leg, implying that their experience was child’s play in comparison to theirs when in Nigeria for the first leg.

The CAF condemned what happened to the Nigerian squad in Libya as “extremely dangerous,” stressing that it had contacted Libyan and Nigerian officials after learning that the latter had been subjected to alarming conditions at the airport for hours. It reported the incident to its disciplinary committee, which will investigate and take appropriate action against individuals who breached the regulations.

A day following the disastrous incident, CAF removed the event from its schedule after announcing the cancellation hours before kickoff. The Disciplinary Committee was tasked with reviewing the situation.

Libya Al-Ahrar Channel now reports that the top continental football organization will make the final decision about the players’ ordeal during the October first leg in Nigeria, which ended 1-0 in favor of the Super Eagles, and the rematch that would have taken place at the 10,550-seat stadium, Libya’s first all-seater stadium.

On Monday, October 21, the publication also disclosed that the Libyan Football Federation gave the Confederation of African Football all of the documents it had gathered, along with a specialized attorney the organization had designated to oversee the Libyan file.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli