Afrigather The Nigeria Soccer Federation (NFF) has denied claims of poor therapy made by Faisal Al-Badri, the captain of Libya’s senior males’s nationwide group.
The NFF insists that the logistical confusion surrounding the Mediterranean Knights’ arrival in Nigeria was attributable to the Libyan Soccer Federation (LFF).
Nigeria’s Tremendous Eagles will tackle Libya on the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Friday, October 11, in a vital 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.
The Tremendous Eagles at present lead Group D with 4 factors from two matches, and the sport, scheduled for five p.m. Nigeria time in Uyo, presents a chance to increase their lead within the standings.
In accordance with Emmanuel Ayanbunmi, NFF’s Assistant Director of Protocol, the LFF notified the NFF of the Libyan group’s arrival in Port Harcourt, somewhat than Uyo, simply three hours earlier than their landing on Tuesday.
“I had an in depth dialog with the LFF Common Secretary on Monday, October 7, and at no level did he point out the group can be arriving on Tuesday. He merely mentioned he would get again to me, however he by no means did. Late on Monday night, somebody from the LFF advance occasion knowledgeable me that the group would arrive the subsequent day at midday. We had already organized to obtain them in Uyo,” Ayanbunmi defined.
The NFF was solely knowledgeable an hour earlier than the group’s flight that they’d be touchdown in Port Harcourt as an alternative of Uyo, which triggered vital disruption.
Regardless of the late discover, the NFF shortly secured federal approval to permit the Libyan group’s airplane to fly from Port Harcourt to Uyo after finishing immigration formalities. Nevertheless, Ayanbunmi instructed that the LFF selected to journey by street to Uyo to keep away from further prices from the constitution firm.
He additionally clarified that the Libyan delegation opted to rent their very own buses as an alternative of utilizing the transportation supplied by the NFF.
“In the event that they ended up in non-air-conditioned buses, that’s on them. We supplied safety escorts, with automobiles and personnel guiding them. So, their complaints and threats don’t concern us.”
Anthony Nlebem
Head of Sports activities at BusinessDay Media, a seasoned Digital Content material Producer, and FIFA/CAF Accredited Journalist with over a decade of sports activities reporting.Has a deep understanding of the Nigerian and international sports activities panorama and abilities in delivering complete and insightful sports activities content material.
