The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has stated that it will not tolerate any excuses from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to boycott the second leg of the Group D 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against the Super Eagles. The LFF made this known through a post on its X handle on Tuesday, following the departure of the Super Eagles and officials from Libya after being stranded at Al Abaq Airport for over 16 hours due to an unexpected diversion on Sunday. This situation led Nigeria to pull out of the match, which was initially scheduled for today.
Sharing several photos from the national team’s training session, the LFF wrote, “Some may be used to putting up obstacles before the match, but here in the heart of Benghazi, specifically on the grounds of the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, there is no room for excuses after the starting whistle. Photos from our national team’s training at the Martyrs of Benina International Stadium, in preparation for the match against Nigeria on Tuesday evening, as part of the fourth round of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.”
The LFF has strongly condemned Nigeria’s decision to withdraw from the qualifier and has threatened legal action to protect the interests of its national team. In a statement shared by The Libya Observer, the LFF accused the Nigerian Football Federation of failing to cooperate in organizing the match, which contributed to the confusion surrounding the current situation.
The statement read, “The Libyan Football Federation condemns the measures taken by the Nigerian Football Federation by refusing to play the Libya-Nigeria match in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, stressing that it will take all legal measures to preserve the interests of the Libyan national football team.”
The LFF also pointed out that the issues faced by Nigeria were not comparable to the difficulties the Libyan team encountered during the first leg in Nigeria. They suggested that the NFF was responsible for mismanaging both the initial and return fixtures.
“The Libyan Federation attaches some inhumane footage that did not prevent the Libyan mission from playing the Nigeria-Libya match last Friday in Nigeria, out of cooperation with the Confederation of African Football. The Libyan Football Federation clarifies that its Nigerian counterpart did not cooperate with it in any way, whether regarding the first or second leg match, noting that the events beyond our control do not equal a small part of what the Libyan national team was exposed to in the first leg match,” the LFF said.
