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BAFANA BAFANA PICK MUSA, IWOBI AS SUPER EAGLES’ PLAYERS TO MARK

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When the potentially explosive South Africa versus Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match gets underway on Saturday, Ahmed Musa and Alex Iwobi of the Super Eagles will be marked men.

According to SowetanLIVE of South Africa, the two players along with the trio of Oghenekaro Etebo, Leon Balogun and Samuel Chukwueze are men to watch in the Super Eagles.

The publication reports that Bafana Bafana who are seeking for a in that would take them to the finals in Cameroon next year will be up against a Super Eagles side bent on revenge after a 2-0 loss last year.

The publication described the Super Eagles as a team packed with players from Europe’s elite leagues. It then picked out five players who have the potential to be match winners for Nigeria at the weekend.

LEON BALOGUN

Centre-back Balogun has barely played for his English Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion this season but remains a rock at the back for Nigeria. Experienced and a good leader, he will be the one tasked with marshalling the Nigeria defence and it sets up an intriguing battle with his quasi-club mate Percy Tau.

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Tau is on the books of Brighton as well, but has been sent on loan to Belgian second-tier side Royal Union St Gilloise. They will have no doubt been training together at some point in pre-season though.

Balogun was born in Berlin to a Nigerian father and a German mother, and previously played for a number of Bundesliga clubs, most notably Mainz.

He made his Nigeria debut against Mexico in 2014 but later missed out on the World Cup that year through an injury he picked up in that game. He did feature in Russia this year and will provide an imposing wall for Bafana to get through.

Perhaps tellingly, he was missing when Bafana beat Nigeria 2-0 in Uyo last year, a game in which they carved open the home defence almost at will.

ALEX IWOBI

Iwobi has been a part of the rejuvenation of Arsenal this season under new coach Unai Emery, having been used sparingly in the World Cup in Russia. He will likely play behind the main striker, pulling the strings as a link between the midfield and the forward line. His intelligence on the ball will be a real worry for Bafana.

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One thing he would like to improve is his goal-scoring ratio and Bafana will hope he does not start on Saturday. His does tend to save his goals for the big matches, with three of his five international strikes coming in the last year against Argentina and England.

The 22-year-old was born in Lagos but was an England international junior after moving to that country at the age of four. He is the nephew of former Super Eagles star Jay-Jay Okocha.

He made his Arsenal debut in 2015 and has made 113 appearances in the three-and-a-bit seasons since, showing that he has played a significant role for The Gunners.

AHMED MUSA

Musa is a player who has had limited success against Bafana before, and his great pace and rocket shot will be a weapon for Nigeria, as it was at the World Cup in Russia, where he was arguably the Super Eagles’ biggest attacking threat. He has carried on that form with goals against Seychelles and Libya in the Nations Cup qualifiers, and will be a massive handful for Bafana on Saturday.

He is likely to feature on the left side of an attacking three, which will mean a tough afternoon for expected Bafana right-back Ramahlwe Mphahlele, who is prone to bombing forward and leaving space at the back. Musa is currently with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr but played most notably previously for CSKA Moscow, and later much less successfully with Leicester City.

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He has played Bafana on five previous occasions, managing just a single goal in a 1-1 draw in 2015.

PETER ETEBO

With Wilfred Ndidi ruled out through suspension, Etebo will be a key figure as a defensive midfielder to shield the back four from South Africa’s slick passing game.

Although he made his debut five years ago in 2013, he has just 19 international caps, but has seen something of a rejuvenation of his Super Eagles career in 2018.

He started every game at the World Cup and has played in all three Nations Cup qualifiers following a move to English Championship side Stoke City.

He began his career with Warri Wolves in his homeland before signing for Feirense in Portugal. He was sent on loan for the second half of last season to Las Palmas in Spain’s La Liga, and then made the commitment to sign for Stoke for £6.35m (around R120m).

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SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE

Chukwueze is an uncapped teenager but all the signs are there that he could play some role against Bafana Bafana after recently making his debut for La Liga side Villarreal. With lead striker Odion Ighalo out with injury, the 19-year-old could earn a shock start or come off the bench, as coach Gernot Rohr has spoken highly of him in recent weeks.

Able to play as a winger or a forward, he would bring an element of the unknown, and with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Henry Onyekuru and Isaac Success in mediocre form this season, it could be a masterstroke.

And, what’s more, he would come into the side with form, having netted his second goal in three matches at the weekend in a 2-2 draw with Rayo Vallecano.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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NFF Communication director unfolds 20 Points of a 20-hour ordeal on Libyan soil

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NFF’s Director of Communications, Dr Ademola Olajire, provides a point-by-point account of how a keenly-anticipated Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match was relegated to a fiasco by Libyan federal authorities and Football Federation

1) The chartered ValueJet aircraft departed from the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo at 11.55hours on Sunday, 13th October 2024, and landed at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano at 13.10hours, for the completion of immigration formalities and for the aircraft to refuel.

2) The aircraft took off from Kano at 15.18hours, for the 3 hours and 35 minutes flight to Benghazi, Libya, expecting to arrive a few minutes before 8pm Libya time.

3) Just as he was about to commence his initial approach into Benghazi, the captain (pilot) was instructed by the control tower that he could not land in Benghazi (despite having all the required landing papers and having completed all formalities before leaving Uyo and later, Kano, but should proceed to the Al-Abraq International Airport, even though the airport lacked the control navigators for landing at such hours. He complained that he was short on fuel but his words fell on deaf ears as he was told sternly that the directive was from ‘higher authorities.’

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4) On landing at the Al-Abraq International Airport, in the small town of Labraq, at 19.50 hours, it was clear that the airport was not a well-utilized facility. There were no scanning machines or the usual equipment for this service, and officials had to make do with mobile phones to scan passport data pages.

5) The delegation, which included 22 players and team officials; NFF President Alh. Ibrahim Musa Gusau; Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu; a couple of NFF Board members; NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi; a couple of parliamentarians; a couple of NFF Management; a couple of media representatives and; a couple of stakeholders, was shown scant respect by the airport authorities who applied curt manners and stern tones.

6) It took over one hour for the team’s luggage to roll through the carousel, despite the fact that the bags and other items had already been hauled from the aircraft immediately on arrival.

7) No official of the Libyan Football Federation was at the airport to receive the delegation, as is the best practice globally. Airport officials could not answer the simple question on where the buses that would take the delegation members back to Benghazi (where the NFF had booked hotel rooms) were.

8) When delegation members including the NFF President, Comrade Shaibu and Dr Sanusi attempted to venture outside the airport to ascertain if there were vehicles waiting for the team, they were stopped in the most uncouth of manners by airport security personnel.

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9) Calls to the General Secretary of LFF, Mr. Abdul-Nasser by Dr Sanusi yielded no fruits as the former kept promising that the buses would arrive in ‘10 minutes’, which later became ‘two hours’, and afterwards, ‘three hours.’ Later in the evening, it was no longer possible to reach him on the phone. Frustrated by this attitude, Dr Sanusi approached the security operatives to request that the team be allowed to go out and board the buses the NFF eventually hired. This request was rejected with insults. It took the intervention of the NFF dignitaries to prevent what would have escalated into a row as the NFF President himself was not spared when he heard an exchange of voices between the security personnel and his General Secretary. This aggravated the tension and further frustrated the team.

10) Hour after hour, and with mounting frustration, delegation members, particularly the players, grew restless. There was no food or water provided by the LFF, or where to even procure these items, and there was no network or internet connection at the airport. These swiftly increased the level of frustration and anger.

11) At past midnight, it was learnt that there had been word from ‘higher authorities’ (Libya is a jurisdiction governed by two different administrations – a UN-recognized cabinet in Tripoli and a self-imposed team over Eastern Libya including places like Benghazi and Labraq) that the Nigeria delegation should be delayed for minimum of 10 hours at the airport for what they falsely claimed was done to their team in Nigeria.  (All conversations between the NFF General Secretary and the LFF General Secretary on the match in Uyo, both written text and voices notes, are still in the NFF General Secretary’s phone)

12) The NFF team was shocked because the incident referred to in Nigeria was entirely generated by the Libyans. They informed the NFF that their contingent would be landing in Port Harcourt, and not Uyo, only two hours to the team’s arrival in Nigeria. Despite this, the NFF moved swiftly to get authorities to grant their aircraft movement permit from Port Harcourt to Uyo, but this was jettisoned as the LFF apparently did not cherish the additional fee dispatched by the charter company. They opted to travel by road, refused to use the buses hired by the NFF and instead hired their own, and disrespected advice not to travel by night. When they stuck to their guns to move by night, the NFF provided security. The NFF even provided the team training facility the day after the match and secured direct flight permit from Uyo to Benghazi for the delegation.

13) Infuriated, the NFF President reacted: “We anticipated some shocks here given the false account of what happened in Nigeria as narrated by their team captain. But we did not expect these shenanigans. What I am seeing is despicable and has no place in the game of football which is meant to foster excellent relationships among nations and bring peoples from diverse cultures, religious persuasions and economic and political interests together in an ambience of peace and joy.”

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14) The NFF learnt that the Embassy of Nigeria in Tripoli had written, a fortnight earlier, to the authorities in Benghazi that they would want to welcome the Nigeria delegation on arrival. This application was said to have been rejected outright.

15) In a conscious effort to play down their frustration, anger and hunger, players and officials resorted to playing games, listening to music, chatting themselves up, scanning through the airport exit door to see if any vehicles had arrived, and generally looked forward to daybreak, which they hoped would bring much-sought-after relief.

16) Many calls were made to higher authorities in Nigeria to apprise them of the situation, and these persons all expressed fears for the safety and security of the team. These fears were real and justified given the plethora of threats thrown by the Libyans on legacy and social media in the days before and after the match in Uyo. At 2am, Captain William Ekong met the NFF President in the company of the NFF General Secretary to inform the President that the team may not be able to go ahead with the match, due to trauma, fatigue and body aches that resulted from lack of food, dehydration and very cruel and unimaginable treatment, which had led to some players falling ill.

17) The NFF repeated calls to officials of the Confederation of African Football, Nigeria’s FIFA Council Member Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick and higher authorities in Nigeria. It dispatched a letter to CAF in which it detailed the antics of the hosts and hoped that the continental governing body would go ahead to “punish this rare bestiality visited on the beautiful game.” It noted that the Super Eagles had travelled hoping to enjoy a great game of football but had been sorely disappointed and frustrated by the unprecedented level of hostility and poor attitude of the hosts.

18) At daybreak, Mr. Maurice Eromosele, president of the Nigerian community in Eastern Libya, arrived with words of empathy from the Ambassador of Nigeria to Libya, His Excellency Alhaji Muhammad Muhammad. He expressed shock at the treatment meted out to the Nigeria delegation, who were made to spend the entire night inside the departure lounge of the Al-Abraq Airport. He said His Excellency ordered him to get a few things for the team, and he later returned with plastic bags loaded with croissants and drinks. These served as breakfast for the team.

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19) More calls were made and eventually, it was agreed by all parties that the team should not go ahead with the match, but return to Nigeria to await the decision of CAF (who were briefed in detail on the situation) with regards to the un-played match.

20) After spending many more hours waiting for the Al-Abraq airport authorities to sell fuel to refill the chartered ValueJet aircraft (which was initially proving to be some sort of robotic engineering), the Nigeria delegation departed the Al-Abraq Airport (not worth the toga of ‘international’ by any scale) at exactly 15.05hours, bound for the city of Kano, and onwards to the Federal Capital, Abuja.

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African football legends, Adebayor and Aubameyang condemn Libya’s treatment of Super Eagles

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Two former African Footballers of the Year, Emmanuel Adebayo of Togo and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang of Gabon have condemned the actions of the Libyan authorities who subjected the Super Eagles of Nigeria to inhumane treatment at the Al Abaq Airport Adebayor was the African Footballer of the Year in 2008 while Aubameyang won the 2015 edition.

Local authorities left the Nigerian contingents unattended for more than 15 hours after they arrived on Sunday night.

Players were seen sleeping on the bench, and the team’s doctors raised concerns over their health ahead of the match.

Adebayor, a legend of African football and Arsenal wrote on X-platform:

“Nigerian Super Eagles were stranded at a Libyan airport, locked in without food, wi-fi, or a place to sleep after their flight was diverted.

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“This type of behaviour is unacceptable for the progress of African football. No team should face such treatment. We stand with Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

“Respect and fair play must come first on and off the field.”

His Gabonese counterpart, Aubameyang who also played for Arsenal that the Libyan action should not happen in 2024. He wrote on X:

“Anyway that is not possible in 2024 acting like that.”

In a related development, the cheerleader of Nigerian football, Dr. Raufu Ladipo told Sports Village Square: “It is a big shame that an African country will treat our Super Eagles this way. It is barbaric. If they could do this to our team,

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“One could imagine what they would have done to members of the supporters club . It is high time CAF and indeed, FIFA takes a very serious look and takes a decision that will serve as deterrent to forestall future occurrence.”

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BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode

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Just as the Nigerian delegation is set to return to the country from Libya, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has waded in and referred the matter to its disciplinary board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.

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CAF issued the following statement:

“The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (‘’Super Eagles’’) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities. 

“The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”

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