Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Libyan Football Federation The Libyan Football Federation ( ar, الاتحاد الليبي لكرة القدم; abbreviated as LFF) is the governing body of football in Libya. It was founded in 1962, affiliated to FIFA in 1964 and to CAF in 1965. It organizes the nati ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

Libyan Premier League The Libyan Premier League ( ar, الدوري الليبي الممتاز) is the men's top professional football division of the Libyan football league system. Administered by the Competition Organizing Committee in the Libyan Football Federati ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Gam ...

James Bingham James Bingham may refer to: * James Bingham (artist), Belfast-based painter * James Bingham (Indiana politician) James Bingham (March 16, 1861 – August 19, 1940) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the nineteenth Indiana Atto ...

Mukhtar Ghonaay A mukhtar ( ar, مختار, mukhtār, chosen one; el, μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of ...

Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Mustapha Makki Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages1968 Olympic football tournament in Mexico City.

World Cups

Libya first entered the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualifiers in 1970. Their early attempts failed, but during the 1980s the national side strengthened. The country's

geopolitical Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

position, however, affected the football team, who had to withdraw from qualifying for the 1982 and 1990 World Cups. Libya came closest to qualifying for the World Cup in 1986. They came to within a game of reaching the finals in Mexico. After winning their match against

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

in their first game, the Libyans beat

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in the next round before taking on

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

for a place at the finals. Morocco won the first game 3–0 and went through, even though Libya won the return leg 1–0. After not entering the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup competition, Libya came back in the qualifying competition for Korea/Japan. The Libyans advanced to the second round at the expense of

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

, who were beaten 4–3 on aggregate. In the group stage, Libya managed only two draws in eight games. In the qualifying for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, a 9–0 two-legged victory against São Tome and Principe put the Libyans through to the group stage. Libyan player

Al-Saadi Gaddafi Al-Saadi Muammar Gaddafi , also spelt as Al-Saadi Moammer Al-Gaddafi ( ar, الساعدي معمر القذافي; born 25 May 1973) is a Libyan retired professional football player. He captained the national team, but his career was widely att ...

was banned from the team after failing

drug test A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of dr ...

. A difficult group followed containing

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, the eventual group winners and qualifiers for the World Cup. However, The Knights were able to secure good results against these sides, as they beat

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

2–1 in Tripoli, and held

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

to 0–0 draws, helping them to a 4th-place finish and a place at the 2006 African Cup of Nations finals in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. During the qualifying campaign for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, Libya defeated each side in the second round during home matches (they also defeated Lesotho away). However they were defeated by Gabon in an away match, and failed to qualify to the next round on goal difference. In the qualifying campaign for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, Libya reached the final match in the group stage without a defeat. They were defeated 1–0 by Cameroon and failed to advance to the final round. In the qualifying campaign for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, Libya defeated

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

4–1 on aggregate in the second round but were eliminated after losing the first three matches in the group stages.

African Cup Of Nations

Libya 1982

The biggest football tournament to be held in Libya was the 1982 African Cup of Nations. Libya qualified automatically as hosts and were put in a group alongside Ghana, Cameroon and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The opening match of the tournament saw the hosts take on

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

in a 2–2 draw. A 2–0 win over Tunisia and a goalless draw against Cameroon saw Libya topping the group. In the semi-finals, Libya came from behind to beat

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

2–1 and set up another match with Ghana, this time in the final on 19 March. Ghana scored first in the 35th minute, but Libya equalised in the 70th. This was followed by a tense period of extra time in which no goals were scored. In a long

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, Ghana came out triumphant 7–6.

Egypt 2006

Libya's second African Cup of Nations saw a return to the higher levels of the international footballing scene at the 2006 African Cup of Nations finals in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. They qualified for the competition after a goalless draw with

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

in their ninth qualifying match. Libya were drawn in Group A with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

(the hosts and eventual winners), 2006 World Cup-qualifiers

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. Libya lost 3–0 to Egypt in Cairo, then lost 2–1 to Ivory Coast. A goalless draw against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

saw Libya finish bottom of the group.

Post-
Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
era

Libya played its first match after the Battle of Tripoli (and thus the end of the Gaddafi era in Libya) on 3 September 2011, with a new uniform sporting the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

flag of Libya. The match, part of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, resulted in a 1–0 victory over

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The historic goal was scored by Rabee'a al Laafi. Like Libya's previous home match, a 3–0 defeat of

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

in qualifying, played in

Stade 26 mars Stade du 26 Mars is located in the southern neighborhoods of Bamako, Mali. It serves as a home ground for domestic football club Stade Malien and is the national stadium. It has a capacity of 50,000 as an all-seater stadium. Built in 2001, it is ...

in Bamako, Mali, a relocation was necessary due to the ongoing

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

, and so the

Petro Sport Stadium The Petrosport Stadium ( arz, استاد بتروسبورت, Egyptian Pronunciation: Estad Petrosport) is a multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 16,000 located in Cairo Governorate, Egypt. It was completed in 2006. It is the home for ...

in Cairo, Egypt became the venue. The match was played behind closed doors for security reasons. Prior to the team's final game in the qualification campaign, against

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

, coach Marcos Paquetá claimed that the team was now "not only playing for football success but for a new government and a new country". The match was played on 8 October 2011, and resulted in a 0–0 draw which was good enough for both teams to qualify. Paquetá and his team danced and celebrated afterwards. In November 2011 the team travelled to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

to play a friendly match against Belarus organized by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

and broadcast Dubai Sports. The team members, along with the Libyan national chess team, also attended an event at the Libyan Consulate in Dubai organized to honour their contribution to their country in the field of sports. On 7 June 2013, Libya met DR Congo in its first match on home ground in two years.

2012 Africa Cup of Nations

Having qualified, Libya were drawn into

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...

with co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, qualification rivals

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

and pre-tournament favourites

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. The Mediterranean Knights' first game, the tournament's opening match, saw them lose to an 87th-minute winner from ex-

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

winger Javier Ángel Balboa. Libya went on to secure a 2–2 draw with Zambia in terrible conditions at the

Estadio de Bata Estadio de Bata is a multi-use stadium in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. The stadium was constructed by the Chinese contractor Covec and completed in 2007 with a capacity of 22,000 people in a single tier pre-cast concrete structure. It was a venu ...

, before two goals from

Ihaab al Bousseffi Ihaab Boussefi ( ar, إيهاب البوسيفي; born 23 June 1985) is a Libyan footballer. He currently plays for Nasr in the Libyan Premier League. He has been capped several times at full international level for Libya, and scored both goal ...

guided them to a 2–1 victory over Senegal, their first Nations Cup win in 30 years and a first on foreign soil. After four points from three games Libya was eliminated at the group stage.

2014 African Nations Championship Final

Libya played Ghana in the 2014 CHAN final. Extra time was given (two 15 minutes), however both teams failed to score. It was taken to penalty shootouts, where the Libyan team scored the first three penalties, missed two others and scored the final sixth and their Ghanaian opponents missed the first two, scored the next three then missed the final sixth penalty (resulting in 3 penalties scored). The match finished (0–0) and was won by the Mediterranean Knights by penalties (4–3).

Coaching crisis

After

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

's dismissal in 2016, Jalal Damja took over the national team. He left in 2017 after his contract expired. Omar Almaryami was later appointed as coach and led Libya to the semi-finals of the 2018 African Nations Championship. After Libya's elimination by

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

,

Adel Amrouche Adel Amrouche ( ar, عادل عمروش; born 7 March 1968) is an Belgium, Belgo-Algeria, Algerian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player who manages the Yemen national football team, Yemen natio ...

was appointed in May 2018. His goal was to help Libya qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He led Libya to a 0–0 draw against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

away from home. However, days before Libya's match against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, Amrouche suddenly left the team's camp and later resigned. During an interview with

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, Amrouche said that the reason for his resignation was that the

Libyan Football Federation The Libyan Football Federation ( ar, الاتحاد الليبي لكرة القدم; abbreviated as LFF) is the governing body of football in Libya. It was founded in 1962, affiliated to FIFA in 1964 and to CAF in 1965. It organizes the nati ...

was repeatedly interfering with his work as a coach. He also cited unpaid wages as a reason for his resignation. Omar Almaryami was again appointed as a caretaker coach of Libya. The team lost twice to Nigeria (4–0 away, 3–2 home) and Almaryami was replaced by former striker

Fawzi Al-Issawi Fawzi Omar Ahmed Al-Issawi ( ar, فوزي العيساوي; born 27 February 1960 in Benghazi) is a former Libyan football midfielder. He was awarded best player of 1982 African Cup of Nations. Honours Personnel * Best player of the 1982 Africa ...

, who led Libya to an 8–1 away win over

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

. However, Libya later lost to South Africa 2–1, and Libya failed to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. It was noted during the match that al-Issawi's assistant,

Abu Bakr Bani Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

was the one who made substitutions and instructed players, leaving many to wonder who was the actual coach. After the match against South Africa, Jalal Damja was reappointed as the head coach for temporary matches in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification before

Faouzi Benzarti Faouzi Benzarti ( ar, فوزي البنزرتي; born 3 January 1950) is a Tunisian professional football manager and former player and the current head coach of MC Alger. He spent his entire career as a player at his home club US Monastir witho ...

was named as new coach of Libya. Under Benzarti, Libya opened their campaign with a disastrous 1–4 loss to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, the home of Benzarti, before managed to salvage an important 2–1 win over

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

to gain hope for qualifying to an AFCON tournament since 2012. Yet, managerial crisis once again erupted when Benzarti left the team and Libya had to appoint a local coach, Ali El Margini, in charge against Equatorial Guinea, a team that had not won a single game in the qualification. Internal instability proved to be a rupture, as Libya lost two consecutive games against the Central African opponent and fell out of top two position. El Margini left after losing all three of his games in charge. He was replaced by Zoran Filipović, who led a team of domestic players into the 2020 African Nations Championship. Libya were eliminated in the group stage after two draws and a loss in three games. Defeats in their final two AFCON qualifiers saw Filipovic sacked in May 2021.

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

was reappointed as head coach shortly afterwards.

Kits

In the

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

era the National team used to play its home matches wearing the green coloured kit representing the Flag of

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Co ...

. However, after the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

in 2011, Libya changed its flag to the new one which was used from 1951 to 1969 back when Libya was a Kingdom. This change resulted in changing the national team's kit in order to represent the new flag. The team played its home matches with colours: Red, Black and Green (as in the flag). Red dominates the strip and is the sole jersey colour. The

away colours Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a 2016 British film * ''Away'' (2019 film), a 2019 animated silent film * ''Away'' (TV series), a 2020 science fiction drama on Netflix Literature * ''Away'' (play), a 1986 play by M ...

were white in both eras. Since 2011, the LFF emblem and the national team's badge was changed into the current design. The previous badge was two balls in front of green coloured Libya's map which is also in front of a sun. During late 2011 and early 2012 the Libyan team wore white jerseys temporarily in their qualification games and

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

. However, in mid-2012 the team began to use red jerseys. In 2014, Libya replaced the green socks worn by the players with black ones. Adidas is the supplier of the official team strip.

Home stadium

The Tripoli Stadium is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. It can hold 80,000 spectators. It was the main venue used by the Libyan national football team in its FIFA World Cup and African Nations Cup qualifying matches as well as friendlies and other international games. The stadium hosted many games of the 1982 African Cup of Nations held in Libya along with the 28 March Stadium in Benghazi. The 28 March Stadium in Benghazi was also used by the national team sometimes. FIFA lifted the ban on Libyan stadiums in 2013, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. However, it was re-imposed in 2014 due to increased security concerns. The Libyan national team was forced to host games in neighboring countries such as

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

or

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

(Tunisia the most popular choice due to its close distance to Libya). Libya played their first home game since 2013 at the

Martyrs of February Stadium Benina Martyrs Stadium ( ar, ملعب شهداء بنينة) and until 2011 officially named Hugo Chávez Football Stadium ( ar, ملعب هوغو شافيز), is a Libyan football stadium located in Benina, a town 19 km east of Benghazi. Th ...

in Benghazi against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

on 25 March 2021.

Rivalries

Libya's only real rivalries are with its fellow

North African North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

footballing nations,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and, mainly,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Matches between Libya and any one of these opponents are highly charged encounters. Libya defeated Egypt 2–1 in a World Cup qualifier on 8 October 2004, the

Pharaohs Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

only managed to beat the Libyans on their own turf once. The rivalry was rekindled at the 2007 Pan Arab Games, where the teams drew 0–0; Egypt eventually claimed the gold medal on goal difference from the Libyans. Libya also has a rivalry with

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. Libya's last win against Morocco was during the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, which Libya won 1–0. A friendly was played between both countries on the 11th of October 2019 in which they tied. Matches between Libya and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

are also very tense, the last time they played was a 5-2 win from the latter in the African Cup of Nations qualification group stage round.

Recent schedule and results

The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2021

2022

2023

Coaching history

* Massoud Zantouny (1953) * Salim Faraj Balteb (1957–1960) * James Benjeham (1961) * Billy Elliott (1961–1963) *

Vojin Božović Vojin "Škoba" Božović ( Cyrillic: Војин Божовић; 1 January 1913 – 19 April 1983) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin football player and manager. Playing career Club He was among the best players in the history of Montenegro and on ...

(1964–1965) * George Skinner (1965–1966) * Mokhtar Arribi (1966–1967) *

Keith Spurgeon Keith Matthew Spurgeon (29 August 1932 – December 1984) was an English football player and manager. Playing career Spurgeon played for Tottenham Hotspur, Margate, Leytonstone, Folkestone Town, Herne Bay and Snowdown Colliery Welfare. In Oct ...

(1967–1968) * Ali Zantouny (1968–1969) *

Milan Selbetishi Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

(1969–1970) *

George Ainsley George Edward Ainsley (15 April 1915 – April 1985) was an English professional footballer and football manager. Playing career George Ainsley,a centre forward, played for his local side South Shields St. Andrews before joining Sunderland i ...

(1970–1971) *

Nicolae Oaidă Nicolae Oaidă (born 9 April 1933) is a Romanian former footballer and manager. Career Nicolae Oaidă was born in Bod, Brașov on 9 April 1933 and started playing football in 1946 at the youth center of Steagul Roșu Brașov, later in 1950 mov ...

(1971–1972) * Hassan Al-Amer (1972) *

Titus Ozon Titus Ozon (13 May 1927 – 24 November 1996) was a Romanian international football striker and manager. He was considered one of the greatest talents of the postwar in the Romanian football, famous for his extraordinary ability to dribble. Car ...

(1972–1974) * Mohammed El-Khamisi (1974–1975) *

Abed Ali Al-Aqili Abid ( ar, عابد ''‘Ābid''), also ''Abed'', literally meaning ''worshipper'', ''adorer'', ''devout'' may be either a surname or given name. In the Russian language, "" (''Abid''), or its form "" (''Avid''), is an old and uncommonPetrovsk ...

(1975–1976) * Mohammed El-Khamisi (1976–1977) * Ali Al-Zaqori (1977–1978) * Ron Bradley (1978–1980) * Mohammed El-Khamisi (1980–1982) * Béla Gutal (1982) *

Cicerone Manolache Cicerone Manolache (born 16 May 1936) is a Romanian former footballer and manager who played as a forward and made four appearances for the Romania national team Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Cen ...

(1983–1984) * Mohammed El-Khamisi (1984) * Hashimi El-Bahlul (1984–1986) * Mohammed El-Khamisi (1988–1989) *

Ahmed Ben Soueid Ahmed Ben Soueid (born in Benghazi) is a Libyan professional football player and manager. Career A native of Benghazi, Ben Soueid is one of the best players in the history of Libyan football. Having played his entire career with the team Al-Ahly ...

(1989) * Hashimi El-Bahlul (1991–1997) * Ion Moldovan (1998) * Danny McLennan (1998) *

Eugenio Bersellini Eugenio Bersellini (10 June 1936 – 17 September 2017) was an Italian football player and manager. He was nicknamed ''Il sergente di ferro'' ("The iron sergeant") because of the very hard training sessions he used to impose on his players. He ...

(1998–1999) *

Carlos Bilardo Carlos Salvador Bilardo Digiano (born 16 March 1938) is an Argentine former physician, football player, and manager. Bilardo achieved worldwide renown as a player with Estudiantes de La Plata in the 1960s, and as the manager of the Argentina ...

(1999–2000) * Miguel Angel Lemme (2000–2001) * Francesco Scoglio (2002) *

Ilija Lončarević Ilija Lončarević (born 8 October 1944) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Croatian Second Football League club Kustošija. Managerial career Lončarević led Inker Zaprešić to t ...

(2003–2004) * Mohammed El-Khamisi (2004–2005) *

Ilija Lončarević Ilija Lončarević (born 8 October 1944) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Croatian Second Football League club Kustošija. Managerial career Lončarević led Inker Zaprešić to t ...

(2005–2006) *

Mohsen Saleh Mohsen Saleh ( ar, محسن صالح) (born 22 June 1949) is an Egyptian Football Analyst and a former football player and manager. He was recently appointed as Head of Football Planning Committee at Al Ahly club. Football career As a midfie ...

(2006) * Abou Bakr Bani (2006–2007) *

Faouzi Benzarti Faouzi Benzarti ( ar, فوزي البنزرتي; born 3 January 1950) is a Tunisian professional football manager and former player and the current head coach of MC Alger. He spent his entire career as a player at his home club US Monastir witho ...

(2007–2009) *

Branko Ivanković Branko Ivanković (; born 28 February 1954) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of the Oman national team. After a 12-year playing career at Varteks, Ivanković started his coaching career at the ...

(2009–2010) * Marcos Paquetá (2010–2012) *

Abdul-Hafeedh Arbeesh Abdul-Hafeedh Arbeesh (born July 23, 1963, in Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli) is a Libyan professional association footballers, football player and association football manager, manager. He plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Al-Mad ...

(2012–2013) *

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

(2013–2016) * Jalal Damja (2016–2017) *

Adel Amrouche Adel Amrouche ( ar, عادل عمروش; born 7 March 1968) is an Belgium, Belgo-Algeria, Algerian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player who manages the Yemen national football team, Yemen natio ...

(2017–2018) *

Fawzi Al-Issawi Fawzi Omar Ahmed Al-Issawi ( ar, فوزي العيساوي; born 27 February 1960 in Benghazi) is a former Libyan football midfielder. He was awarded best player of 1982 African Cup of Nations. Honours Personnel * Best player of the 1982 Africa ...

(2018–2019) * Jalal Damja (2019) *

Faouzi Benzarti Faouzi Benzarti ( ar, فوزي البنزرتي; born 3 January 1950) is a Tunisian professional football manager and former player and the current head coach of MC Alger. He spent his entire career as a player at his home club US Monastir witho ...

(2019–2020) * Ali El Margini (2020) * Zoran Filipović (2020–2021) *

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

(2021–2022) * Ramon Catala (2022) *

Corentin Martins Corentin da Silva Martins (born 11 July 1969) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently Manager (association football), manager of the Libya national football team, Libya nat ...

(2022–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for two friendly matches against

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesCairo 1991 campaign, the

Football at the All-Africa Games The men's Association football tournament has been held at every session of the African Games since 1965. Women's competition was added in 2003. Since 1991, age limit for men teams is under-23, same as the age limit in football competitions at ...

was open to full senior national teams. * Libya was disqualified from the tournament due to violence with the Egyptian team during the match in the group stage.

African Nations Championship record

Mediterranean Games record

*Prior to the Athens 1991 campaign, the

Football at the Mediterranean Games Football has been played consistently at the Mediterranean Games since the year 1951 for men. Italy and Spain is the most successful team. From 1991, national teams are not allowed, which means only youth teams participate in the tournament. Tou ...

was open to full senior national teams.

FIFA Arab Cup record

Pan Arab Games record

Palestine Cup of Nations record

Honours

* Africa Cup of Nations **Runners-up (1): 1982 *

Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

**Runners-up (2): 1964, 2012 **Third place (1): 1966 *

African Nations Championship The African Nations Championship (french: Championnat d'Afrique des Nations; abbreviated as CHAN), known as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a biennial African national association football tourname ...

**Champions (1): 2014

Notes

References

External links

Libyan Football Federation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Libya National Football Team African national association football teams 1918 establishments in Libya

History

Early history

World Cups

African Cup Of Nations

Libya 1982

Egypt 2006

Post-
Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
era

2012 Africa Cup of Nations

2014 African Nations Championship Final

Coaching crisis

Kits

Home stadium

Rivalries

Recent schedule and results

2021

2022

2023

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

African Nations Championship record

Mediterranean Games record

FIFA Arab Cup record

Pan Arab Games record

Palestine Cup of Nations record

Honours

See also

Notes

References

External links

History

Early history

World Cups

African Cup Of Nations

Libya 1982

Egypt 2006

Post-Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ... era

2012 Africa Cup of Nations

2014 African Nations Championship Final

Coaching crisis

Kits

Home stadium

Rivalries

Recent schedule and results

2021

2022

2023

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

African Nations Championship record

Mediterranean Games record

FIFA Arab Cup record

Pan Arab Games record

Palestine Cup of Nations record

Honours

See also

Notes

References

External links

Post-
Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
era