Sports

Eagle’s Hostage : Nigeria, Libya Await Verdict Today

Published

2 months ago

October 22, 2024

Joel Ajayi

Confederation of African Football will today announce its decision on the botched AFCON qualifying Group D between Libya and Nigeria, which was scheduled for Benina Martyrs Stadium on October 15.

According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, the apex continental football body will announce the final decision regarding the players’ ordeal during the first leg in Nigeria in October, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Super Eagles and the reverse fixture that would have held at the 10,550-capacity, Libya’s first all-seater stadium.

The outlet also revealed that the Libyan Football Federation submitted all the documents it collected with a specialised lawyer assigned by the body to supervise the Libyan file with the Confederation of African Football.

A day after the botched encounter, CAF delisted the fixture from its calendar after announcing its cancellation hours before kick-off, with the matter referred to the Disciplinary Committee for consideration.

its statement on Monday, the Libyan Football Federation denounced the measures taken by the Nigerian side regarding the team’s refusal to play its match against Libya.
The Federation confirmed that it would take all legal measures to preserve the interests of the national football team.

Nigeria had arrived for the match on Sunday, October 14, only for their flight to be diverted to Al Abraq International Airport, which is about three hours away by road to Benghazi, the venue of the match.

The Libyan authorities held them captive for approximately 17 hours, leaving them traumatized as they flew back to their home country.

Nigeria lodged a complaint with CAF lamenting their ordeal, and the Libyan Federation said that the Nigerians did not cooperate with them in any way, whether in the first or second leg, indicating that their experience is a child’s play compared to theirs while in Nigeria for the first leg.

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Sports

Special Sports is an integral part of Mr President’s Renewed Hope Commitment to Nigerians-Olopade

Published

52 mins ago

December 23, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Director General of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Bukola Olopade, says prioritising the plight of the Country’s Special Athletes is one of the integral commitments of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, under the revamped Sports Commission.

The NSC DG stated this over the weekend when he attended the final of the first edition of the Elite Wheelchair Basketball Championship held at the National Stadium in Lagos.

The DG reiterated that every Sports will get its required attention from the National Sports Commission , stressing that the Mandate of Mr President is to ensure a sustainable Sports Economy is built by maximising the potential of every sport.

” I must state here that myself and the Chairman of the Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko are totally committed to ensuring that you guys in wheelchair basketball, like every other para- sports, feel the impact of the renewed hope agenda of Mr President .

” This is why events of this nature , as small as it may appear , will always be appreciated and supported by the Commission.

” I am also very happy with the kind of giant strides we are witnessing with Wheelchair basketball and it has continued to grow over the years from where it was when I was the President”, he said.

The DG further hailed the organisers of the event saying, ” this is a very good one from Musibau and his wife, both who are captains of the Nigerian team, now playing in France . So for them to come back home to put this together shows how much the Sport has continued to grow in the Country”.

The Elite Wheelchair Basketball tournament saw Ogun State emerging winners after beating Oyo State in a highly entertaining final. Lagos State clinched the third place position after beating Kwara state in the third place match.

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