September 15 – Several elite Libyan players have tragically lost their lives in the aftermath of the destructive floods that have devastated parts of the country.
The floods, caused by Storm Daniel, resulted in two dams bursting, sweeping away large parts of the eastern port city of Derna.
The mayor of Derna estimates as many as 20,000 people have been killed while thousands more are reported to be missing.
The Libyan FA has officially announced the deaths of four footballers in the region – Shaheen Al-Jamil, Monder Sadaqa and brothers Saleh and Ayoub Sasi.
Sadaqa played for Derna-based Premier League side Darnes, where the Sasi brothers were part of the youth team. Al-Jamil recently signed for Al-Tahaddi, another Premier League team in the city of Benghazi.
The BBC reports that another well-known player in the country, Ibrahim Al-Qaziri, also died in the floods. He had represented several Libyan Premier League sides and was most recently at second-tier Nusour Martouba.
The BBC also reports that Libyan clubs Al-Ahly Benghazi and Al-Hilal have asked the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to postpone their forthcoming matches in the African Champions League and African Confederation Cup respectively.
Al-Ahly are scheduled to play ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast on Sunday while Al-Hilal are set to face Rwanda’s Rayon Sport today, with Al Hilal club official Ali Al Sharif saying “the situation is really not suitable for playing football in light of the disaster that befell us”.
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