As the Super Eagles of Nigeria were left stranded for more than 14 hours at Al Abraq Airport in Libya ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier, frustration spread across Nigerian football circles. The unfortunate episode wasn’t a first for a Nigerian team traveling to Libya.
Over the past few years, Nigerian clubs such as Enyimba FC and Rivers United FC have similarly experienced hostile and unsportsmanlike treatment in the country, exposing an alarming trend of repeated travel difficulties and security concerns for visiting teams.
This recurring issue raises important questions: Why is this pattern persisting? And what are Nigerian football teams doing to protect themselves in such hostile environments?
Enyimba’s 2021 ordeal: Stranded and helpless
In November 2021, Nigeria’s Enyimba FC faced a sad ordeal when they were left stranded for over 24 hours in Casablanca, Morocco, en route to Tunisia for their CAF Confederation Cup playoff against Libyan side Al Ittihad.
The team’s troubles began when a sudden venue change, just days before the match, forced them to make last-minute adjustments to their travel plans—a decision that would ultimately leave the squad in dire straits.
Anyansi Agwu, detailed the situation in a letter to the Confederation of African Football (CAF): “The club’s contingent has been left completely stranded for over twenty-four hours at the Muhammed V International Airport in Casablanca, Morocco, after the team was denied access to Tunisia by immigration authorities.”
Enyimba’s chairman, Felix Anyansi in a letter to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), explained that Enyimba had been diligently preparing for the fixture, requesting information from CAF and Al Ittihad about the venue weeks in advance. However, their inquiries went unanswered.
“It is worthy to note that after Enyimba were drawn against Al Ittihad on October 26, the club swung into action immediately and wrote a series of letters to both CAF and Al Ittihad requesting the venue of the match. Unfortunately, none of the letters were responded to,” he said.
In a last-minute scramble, Enyimba secured Tunisian visas, but upon arrival in Casablanca, the team encountered another roadblock. Tunisian authorities required proof of full COVID-19 vaccination from every member of the team. Even though the club had presented negative test results, they were denied entry and forced to sleep at the airport. Cold, without food, and facing the prospect of missing the match, which was eventually postponed to a later date by CAF.
Rivers United: A dark night in Benghazi
One year later, in November 2022, Rivers United FC’s visit to Libya for the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup playoff against Al Nasr Benghazi descended into chaos.
The Nigerian champions, who had secured a commanding 5-0 victory in the first leg in Port Harcourt, arrived in Benghazi expecting a challenging game—but not the off-pitch intimidation that followed.
Libyan fans had already made their intentions clear on social media, promising Rivers United a “hellish” experience in Benghazi. Those threats turned into reality when the team landed. Unlike other professional fixtures, there were no security personnel or police escorts waiting to assist Rivers United, leaving the Nigerians to fend for themselves. Worse still, the hosts failed to provide basic amenities such as transport, forcing the Nigerian team to pay for their own bus.
What followed was a night that Rivers United’s players and officials won’t forget in a hurry. The team’s privately arranged training session was cut short when Al Nasr Benghazi fans arrived at the venue, throwing bottles and stones and intimidating the facility’s managers into turning off the floodlights. “The antics reached a crescendo,” the Rivers United media team reported, as the players and officials were trailed back to their hotel by angry fans.
Super Eagles: The latest victims
Fast forward to October 2024, and the Super Eagles became the latest victims of this troubling trend. Stranded at Al Abraq Airport in Libya for over 12 hours, the Nigerian national team faced a series of logistical nightmares ahead of their AFCON qualifier. Denied immediate access to Benghazi and forced to endure long delays without basic amenities, the players expressed their frustration with the chaotic conditions.
Team captain William Troost-Ekong described the ordeal as “disgraceful,” adding, “Even the Tunisian pilot, who thankfully managed to navigate the last-minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land, had never seen something like this before.” The treatment the Super Eagles received echoed the unsavory experiences of their club counterparts, Enyimba and Rivers United.
A pattern of hostility
The treatment of Nigerian football teams in Libya has, sadly, become an alarming pattern. From Enyimba’s venue confusion in 2021 to Rivers United’s violent reception in 2022 and now the Super Eagles’ latest ordeal, the hostile environment for visiting Nigerian teams appears to be more than just coincidence.
These incidents raise serious concerns about Libya’s ability to host international matches in a safe and fair manner. More importantly, they point to a larger issue within African football—one where poor communication, last-minute changes, and inadequate security arrangements create an uneven playing field for teams traveling abroad.