The Disciplinary Board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded Nigeria three points and three goals from the botched matchday 4 encounter of the 2025 AFCON qualification series scheduled to be played by Libya and the Super Eagles in Benina on October 15.
The Super Eagles contingent to the match had their plane diverted mid-air to the abandoned, ill-equipped Al-Abraq airport and were held there for 18 hours without food, water or access to the internet.
After the inhumane treatment, the Nigerian team decided to pull out of the match as the Nigeria Football Federation filed an official complaint to CAF.
The Disciplinary Board is made up of Ousmane Kane (Senegal), Njeri Onyango (Kenya), Felix Golbassia (Chad), Patrick Shale (Lesotho) and Norman Arendse (South Africa).
In its verdict on Saturday, signed by the chairman Kane, the Disciplinary Board ruled that the Libya Football Federation is found to have breached Article 31 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations as well as Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.
CAF added that “the match No. 87 Libya v. Nigeria of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers 2025 (scheduled to be played on 15 October in Benghazi) declared lost by forfeit by Libya (by a score of 3-0)”.
The Libya Football Federation has also been ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 within 60 days of notification of the present decision.
CAF, therefore, dismissed Libya’s case as lacking merit.
The implication is that the Super Eagles are now set to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with two matches to spare.
With the decision, the Super Eagles are now on 10 points from four matches, four points better than second-placed Benin Republic, while Rwanda have five points. Bottom-placed Libya have only one point and are out of the running for qualification.
Victory or draw against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Abidjan on November 14 (a Matchday 5 encounter) will earn the Super Eagles a ticket to the tournament in Morocco, in December 2025 and January 2026.
