The Libyan media reports that Nigerian giants Enyimba International have been knocked out of the CAF Confederations Cup, with the country’s representative Al Ittihad making the competition’s group stage instead.
Enyimba were scheduled to face FC Ittihad today (December 19) in the rescheduled first leg of their playoff tie at the Martyrs of February Stadium in Benghazi.
Led by Super Eagles legend George Finidi, the People’s Elephants had claimed a 2-0 victory in the second leg in Aba two weeks ago courtesy of goals from Sadiq Abubakar Adamu and Victor Mbaoma.
The first leg of the encounter in Libya was initially postponed after Enyimba endured logistic issues during their trip to the country via Morocco.
But CAF’s Appeal Committee, during the week, dismissed Enyimba’s petition requesting for the return leg to be cancelled, played on a ground other than Libya, or postponed to a later date.
The Nigerian representatives were further advised to write to Ittihad and seek the Libyans’ consent in rescheduling the game’s kick-off date.
But Deputy Secretary-General of the Libyan Football Federation (LFF), Mohamed Qremida, as per the Libya Observer, has confirmed that Enyimba’s request arrived in Ittihad, but it was rejected.
With Ittihad rejecting the postponement of the fixture, the Libyans are celebrating their progress to the group stage of the Confederations Cup.
Both Enyimba and CAF are yet to respond to the development.
The two-time CAF Champions League winners are currently preparing to trade tackles with Abia Warriors at the Enyimba Stadium in the opening weekend of the NPFL 2021-2022 season.