The captain of the Super Eagles, William Troost-Ekong, has announced that the Nigerian national football team will boycott their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against Libya, citing “unfair treatment” upon their arrival in the North African country.
The announcement was made on Monday morning via Troost-Ekong’s social media account on X (formerly Twitter).
The decision comes after the Nigerian team endured over 12 hours of detention at an abandoned airport in Libya. This occurred after their plane was unexpectedly diverted while descending into the country. The Super Eagles had traveled for the second leg of the AFCON qualifying series, following their 1-0 victory against Libya in Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Friday.
Troost-Ekong expressed frustration in a series of tweets, highlighting the difficult conditions the team had faced, including being stranded without phone connection, food, or drink, and denied access to any hotels after landing.
“We’ve been held at an abandoned airport in Libya for over 12 hours. Our plane was diverted while descending, and the Libyan authorities have rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi for no reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us stranded,” he tweeted.
The Al-Kholood defender described the experience as “disgraceful behavior” and called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to launch an investigation into the incident. He also revealed that the team has decided not to proceed with the match, expressing safety concerns and a lack of trust in their treatment in Libya.
“Even if CAF allows the game to proceed, we have decided that we will NOT play. We respect ourselves and our opponents when they are guests in Nigeria, but we will not accept this treatment. Let them have the points,” Troost-Ekong added.
The captain noted that the Nigerian government had been contacted to intervene and rescue the team from the situation. He further explained that the Tunisian pilot, who navigated the emergency diversion, was also denied accommodation, with the Nigerian crew forced to sleep on the plane.
In response, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) issued a statement acknowledging the players’ decision to boycott the game and confirmed that efforts were being made to fly the team back to Nigeria.
“Players have resolved not to play the match any longer, and NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home,” the statement read.
At the time of this report, CAF had yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident in Libya.
