Benghazi, 3 February 2014:
Football fans this afternoon started gathering outside Benghazi’s Benina Airport waiting for the Libyan football team to land and begin their triumphal tour of the country.
The two roads leading to Benina were almost impossible to pass, with cars backed up some two kilometres. Over a thousand people, including families with young children, could be seen shouting, waving flags and jumping up and down in a state of jubilant excitement.
Laughing, some of the crowd started chanting: “No water, no electricity, but we won in Africa.” This showed how the country’s victory over Ghana in the African Nations Championship has overridden so many problems currently faced by Libyans. Benghazi has been experiencing severe water and power shortages after fighting in the south of the country severed transmission lines.
Once they have landed, the team is expected to go to the nearby stadium for an official welcome.
