Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has announced that the Nigerian national team has decided not to play their 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 15.
The decision comes after the team and coaching staff were stranded at Al Abraq Airport in Libya for over 15 hours following an unexpected flight diversion on Sunday. Despite efforts from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to resolve the situation, the team remains stuck without proper accommodations or transportation.
In a strongly-worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Troost-Ekong expressed his frustration with the Libyan authorities and called on the Nigerian government to intervene.
“As the captain, together with the team, we have decided that we will NOT play this game,” he wrote. “CAF should look at the report and what is happening here. Even if they decide to allow this kind of behavior, let them have the points.”
Troost-Ekong emphasized the team’s safety concerns, stating they would not accept traveling by road under unsafe conditions and raised doubts about the hospitality they would receive. “We respect ourselves and our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. This has nothing to do with international football,” he added.
