Nigeria has been granted a 3-0 victory over Libya, earning three crucial points from its Africa Cup of Nations qualifier that was initially scheduled for earlier this month.
The match was called off after the Nigerian team was stranded at a remote airport in Libya for half a day prior to kickoff.
On Saturday, the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) disciplinary committee officially awarded the match to Nigeria, bringing the team closer to qualification for next year’s finals as it currently leads Group D.
With this win, Nigeria now holds 10 points with two matches remaining, four points ahead of second-place Benin and five ahead of Rwanda.
Meanwhile, Libya remains at the bottom of the group, having secured only one point from four games. The top two teams in the group will qualify for the 2025 finals in Morocco.
Nigeria had refused to play the match in Benghazi on Oct. 15, citing mistreatment upon arrival in the country about 48 hours before the scheduled kickoff.
Nigerian players and officials were kept in a locked airport for more than 16 hours, almost 250 kilometers (155.34 miles) away from their intended destination, after their charter flight was redirected while on approach to Benghazi and instead landed in Bayda.
They reported having no access to food or water and no contact from Libyan officials during the ordeal, leading them to decide to fly back to Nigeria rather than fulfill the fixture.
The Libya Football Federation said the incident was not deliberate, adding that its players also faced travel difficulties when they played in Nigeria four days earlier.
But CAF found Libya in breach of competition rules that stipulate visiting teams must be properly received by the host association, which is responsible for seeing them through entry formalities and providing transportation.
CAF stated Nigeria was awarded the match with a 3-0 scoreline and that Libya had been fined $50,000.
Libya had previously complained about the treatment of its players and officials upon arrival in Nigeria for their qualifier in Uyo on Oct. 11, when their flight landed hours away from the match venue and the players endured long travel delays.
Nigeria won that match 1-0. The treatment of the Libyan team ahead of the scheduled return game four days later was seen as a tit-for-tat measure and was widely condemned across the continent as Libya taking gamesmanship a step too far.
It also highlighted the consistently poor treatment meted out to visiting sides when playing across Africa, in both national team and club competitions.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe said earlier this week that his organization is looking to tighten rules and regulations to deter mistreatment of visiting teams.
African football is notorious for poor treatment of visiting teams, with common practices including delays at immigration on arrival, circuitous and lengthy bus trips, and inadequate training facilities.
