- CAF President emphasised the importance of treating visiting teams with respect and dignity
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) declared on Tuesday that it has launched a (appropriate) investigation into the recent controversy surrounding Nigeria’s AFCON qualifier versus Libya.
The president, Patrice Motsepe, said this at a press conference following the 46th Ordinary General Assembly in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
During his presentation, Motsepe, who avoided providing a thorough explanation of the situation, stated that the CAF will no longer accept such incidents across the continent.
He did, however, ensure that “the process has been properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken”.
He stated, “When there was a problem with the Nigerian national team in Libya, I will not comment on it because there is an ongoing inquiry.
“But I want to emphasise a principle that we will not tolerate, because this is something that has been going on for quite some time.
“Your national team, let me emphasise, forget about the Nigeria and Libya situation, because that process has been properly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.”
The South African highlighted recurring instances in African football where visiting teams are sometimes treated poorly.
“Too many stories have been told of national teams or football clubs going to a country, and they spend hours at the airport, being asked about documents that don’t exist,” Motsepe said.
The CAF President emphasised the importance of treating visiting teams with respect and dignity, pointing to the principle of fairness in competition.
“But it’s this lack of sportsmanship that has existed and we haven’t taken effective action. But I just want to repeat, we are proud of those nations that treat visiting national teams and football clubs with the respect and dignity they deserve,” he added.
Motsepe also stressed that CAF is reviewing its regulations and will enforce stricter measures to ensure that incidents like the one involving Nigeria in Libya do not recur.
“If there are violations of those regulations and those rules, we will take action. But sportsmanship remains a core value in African football”, he submitted.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) pulled out from the match with the Mediterranean Knights of Libya over the incident.
Following Libya’s 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the first leg of the qualifiers in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on October 11, both teams were expected to face off again in Libya for the Group D match.
However, according to reports from the NFF camp, an hour before landing at Benghazi, their destination, the chartered Nigerian aircraft was diverted to Al Abraq, a city more than two hours’ drive from Benghazi.
The unexpected diversion left players and officials stranded without assistance from the Libyan Football Federation (LFF), which failed to provide transportation.
The pathetic condition of the Super Eagles players and the accompanying officials was brought to public attention by the team’s captain, William Troost-Ekong, via his X account.
Troost-Ekong described the development as a mind game taken to a dangerous situation that left them without phone connection, food or drink.