CAF Awards Super Eagles 3 Points and 3 Goals, Fines Libya $50,000

CAF has awarded Super Eagles 3 points and 3 goals against Libya.

Newsone Nigeria reports that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded three points and three goals to the Super Eagles of Nigeria for the missed Libya game.

This online news platform understands that the decision comes after the CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, said a thorough probe was ongoing following the recent controversy surrounding Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya.

The CAF President had maintained that the continental body would not tolerate any lack of sportsmanship and unfair treatment in African football.

However, in the latest development on Saturday, October 26, 2024, a statement signed by CAF’s Chairperson of CAF Disciplinary Board, Ousmane Kane said the decision to award Nigeria the points was taken after findings by the disciplinary committee it set up to look into the matter, found Libya guilty of the inhumane treatment meted out to the Nigerian senior men’s football team.

The Disciplinary Board of the Confederation of African Football also fined the Libyan Football Federation for the Super Eagles’ ordeal.

The five-man disciplinary committee consists of Mr. Ousmane Kane (Senegal) as Chairperson, Ms. Njeri Onyango (Kenya) as Vice-Chairperson, Mr. Felix Golbassia (Tchad) as Member, Mr. Patrick Shale (Lesotho) as Member, and Mr. Norman Arendse (South Africa) as Member.

CAF said the disciplinary board decided that; “The Libya Football Federation is found to have breached Article 31 of the African, Cup of Nations Regulations as well as Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code, and that the match No.87 Libya v. Nigeria of the CAF African Cup of Nations Qualifiers 2025 (scheduled to be played on 15 October 2024 in Benghazi) is declared lost by forfeit by Libya (by a score of 3-0).”

Following the conclusion of the board’s findings, CAF also ordered the Libya Football Federation to pay a fine of USD 50,000 within 60 days of notification of the present decision.

The players and officials were stranded for hours at a Libyan airport and denied access to food and the internet as they prepared to honour their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier with the Mediterranean Knights.

It took diplomatic efforts and social media callouts for the team to be cleared to finally leave Libya.

With the CAF decision, Nigeria is now poised to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with two matches to spare.

The 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 is out of the running for qualification.

Victory or draw against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Abidjan on Thursday, 14th November (a Matchday 5 encounter) will land the Super Eagles a ticket to the finals in Morocco, December 2025/January 2026.