Julius Okorie
Stranded Super Eagles are set to fly back to Nigeria, after the Nigeria football Federation (NFF) pulled the team out of the second leg AFCON qualifier against the Knights of Libya on Tuesday.
The NFF decision is coming close to 16 hours after the Eagles who left the country on Sunday for the return leg in Libya had their plane diverted and left stranded at the Al Abraq airport with no attention, no food, no water and no explanation from very hostile Libyan authorities.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Eagles had won the first leg of the two legged encounter on Friday, thanks to a lone goal by Dele Bashiru, leaving the Libyan team at the bottom of Group D ladder with just a point to show for three matches played so far, an indication that the Knights are already on their way out of AFCON 2025 in Morocco.
Recall that the Nigerian contingent that headed for Libya on a chattered Value jet aircraft had their flight heading for Benghazi diverted mid-way to Al Abraq airport meant from reliable sources for mainly hajj operations
In a statement dished this afternoon, the NFF detailed the chaotic situation, explaining that the team remained at the airport for over 12 hours, unable to reach their hotel in Benghazi, which is three hours away.
“The Nigerian delegation for Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya is still at Al Abraq Airport, 12 hours after landing. The chartered ValueJet aircraft was, strangely and in a dangerous manner, diverted to the small airport just as the pilot was completing his approach to Benghazi Airport,” the NFF stated.
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The NFF further noted that the fatigued and frustrated players have now resolved not to play the match.
The NFF, supporting the players’ decision, is currently arranging for the team to fly back to Nigeria, effectively pulling them out of the fixture.
“Players have resolved not to play the match any longer, and NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home,” the statement concluded
There are strong indications that the return flight will head straight to Abuja from where most of the players will return to their base in Europe pending the next set of matches. Eagles next set of matches will be in November beginning with away match against Benin Republic and home game against Rwanda on November 11 and 19 respectively.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
