Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has addressed the recent hostage situation involving the Nigerian national team at Al Abraq Airport.
The incident took place while the Super Eagles were traveling to Benghazi for their 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya, resulting in the team being stranded at the airport for several hours.
President Motsepe spoke on the issue, highlighting the organization’s dedication to accountability in these matters.
He stated: “When there was this problem of the Nigerian national team in Libya. I will not comment on that because there is a proper investigation [going on] but I want to emphasise the principle we will not tolerate. Because this is something that has been going on for quite some time. Forget about the Nigeria-Libya situation because it has been properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken.
“I have heard too many stories of a football club or a national team going to a country. You spend hours at the airport and they ask you about documents that is not meant to be accessed. And apparently during Covid, they will look at the 10 best players from your team and say those players have Covid. These are lack of sportsmanship that has existed and we have not taken effective action.”
In the previous report, CAF stated that it had engaged with both Libyan and Nigerian officials after discovering that the Nigerian national football team and its representatives were directed by Libyan authorities to land in challenging circumstances.
The statement read: “The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation, and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”
The Super Eagles were rerouted to Al Abraq Airport, located more than two hours from their original destination, and ended up stranded for over thirteen hours without any transportation arranged by the Libyan Football Federation.
This situation sparked significant anger as Nigeria prepared for their vital second-leg AFCON qualifier against Libya, ultimately resulting in the postponement of the match.
