On the night of Sunday, October 13, 2024, the players and those who accompanied the Nigerian national team (Super Eagles) arrived in Libya but found that they arrived at the Abraq Airport in Tripoli and were scheduled to go to Benghazi .
The head of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) announced that the players and those accompanying the Nigerian national team were locked in the airport building for 12 hours.
On the side of the captain of the Nigerian national team, William Troost-Ekong said that the leading players have decided not to play the game on Tuesday, asking the Nigerian government to listen to them and help them.
Troost-Ekong in a message posted on X at 12:00 said that he and his friends should return home. He said, "We have already called the Nigerian government to get us out of here. As the captain of the team and I support the players, we have already confirmed that we will not play this game. CAF should look at the report of what happened here, and if I see fit, give the points without any problems."
The Minister of Sports in Nigeria, Senator John Owan Enoh, said that the priority is to do everything possible for the team to return to Nigeria safely.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said the matter had been referred to the ethics department for further investigation.
This comes after the Libyan national team also complained about the way they were treated when they traveled to Nigeria and spent two hours at the airport, even taking a long journey by car. He was going to play the match of the 3rd day in search of a ticket to the African Cup 2025.
This match was won by the Nigerian national team 1-0 in the match that took place on Friday. Nigeria leads Group D with 7 points, while Libya is in last place with 1 point.
