The Libyan national football team faced a disastrous and poor reception upon arriving in Nigeria on Tuesday, with players held at Lagos airport for over three hours.
Libyan media circulated images of the team members sitting on the floor of Lagos airport after a long journey that began in Tripoli. The team had travelled to Lagos before heading to Uyo, where they will face Nigeria in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Friday.
Reports indicated that the Nigerian Football Federation failed to send a bus for the team, leaving them stranded at the airport for three hours. Eventually, three small buses were provided to transport the team under difficult conditions through forested areas for over 200 kilometers. Despite travelling on a private jet, the Libyan team was forced to land in Lagos instead of Uyo.
Faisal Al-Badri, the captain of the team, provided details of the journey in remarks reported by the Libyan News Agency. He stated that the team underwent an extensive inspection inside the plane, lasting an hour, followed by a three-hour delay in transportation between cities, despite the use of a private jet.
He added, “We were informed there was no police escort for the delegation, and we travelled on unpaved roads in complete darkness. The journey took five hours under dangerous conditions, and we arrived at the hotel late at night, with poor accommodation standards.”
Al-Badri confirmed that this was not the first time the team had faced poor treatment in Africa.
Libya is set to play two matches against Nigeria in the African qualifiers, the first on Friday in Uyo, and the second at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Benghazi on October 15th.
