A shocking incident occurred in the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup Africa qualifying round.
The 'Eagles' Nigerian national soccer team players were detained for more than 16 hours at an airport in Libya on the 14th (local time), local media reported.
The story is like this. Nigeria went on an away trip to Libya to play the fourth match after winning the third round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Libya at home on the 12th.
The destination was the Libyan city of Benghazi, but the route was suddenly changed during the descent of a chartered flight carrying the squad. At the behest of Libyan authorities, a chartered flight was diverted and landed at a small al-Brak airport 150 miles from Benghazi and nearly two hours away. Albrak is known to be an airport commonly used for military silence.
The Nigerian team, embarrassed by the sudden detour of the plane, learned that there was no transport waiting for them when they arrived at Albrak Airport. That's how I had to stay up all night at the airport. In fact, even basic rights such as food and beverages were not guaranteed in the context of 'imprisonment'. Wi-Fi didn't work either.
The players spent time at the airport while Nigerian national team officials questioned the airport staff and the Nigerian government talked with the Libyan government. Midfielder Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) opened his social media page and said "This is not football. I'm so ashamed. We were shamefully hostages of the national team." Suspecting that Libya was taking revenge for its defeat two days ago.
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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Nigerian players posted a post announcing the `imprisonment situation' in real time from around 7 a.m. British time. At first, the Libyan government cancelled our approved landing scheduled for Benghazi for no reason (William Trust-Ekong)"The players, who were calmly explaining the situation, were about 18 hours into their airport confinement, and were now slowly frightening. Everyone, we just want to go back to our country'(Victor Boniface) hit SOS. Ndidi also wrote "I'm afraid of losing my life".
Striker Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray), who was not selected for the national team, said "Our players were trapped at the Libyan airport. I urge CAF (African Football Federation) to intervene. This behavior is against sportsmanship. unjust and inhumane" he raised his voice.
About 16 hours later, the Libyan government gave permission to fly. Libya is said to have charged five times the market price for chartered fuel.
Nigerian captain Trust-Ekong "We decided not to play this game"I'm getting fuel for the plane now. It is scheduled to depart for Nigeria soon. Thank you for everyone's interest"And again, we're not going to treat the visiting team like this. Mistakes can happen, flights can be delayed, but they shouldn't be intentional!" he shot back.
In response "We have the utmost respect for Nigeria. I would like to remind you that their flight was not intentionally changed. Aircraft may be diverted due to routine air traffic protocols, security checks, or other logistical issues. We categorically reject all opinions suggesting expediency or sabotage in this situation. I hope this misunderstanding will be resolved with understanding and good faith,' he said, denying the charge of `intentional imprisonment.'
The Nigerian side rejected the match scheduled for the 15th and returned to Nigeria immediately. The CAF said it was watching the incident very seriously and that appropriate action would be taken against countries that violated association regulations through a thorough investigation.
Nigeria leads the group with seven points from three games. Benin (6 points), Rwanda (2 points), and Libya (1 point). In the preliminary round in which 52 teams participated, a total of 24 teams ranked first and second in 12 groups will qualify for the finals.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
