Located in the Maghreb region near the Mediterranean Sea, Libya is one of the largest countries in Africa. As with most of the African countries, Libya has an ongoing love affair with football. Their passion for the sport can be seen even in the teenagers of the country that considers the sport their favorite past time. It is one of the biggest part of the country's culture that it would not be unusual for people to leave early from work just to watch a match. Their passion even sometimes lead to unfortunate events of riots especially if the top three teams (Ahly Tripoli, Ittihad Tripoli, and Ahly Benghazi) are playing, and more so when against each other.
Their national football team called "The Greens" is ranked 78th among all the members of FIFA above countries like Iceland and Qatar. Players like Fawzi al Issawi, Salim Abu Jarrad, and Ali al Beshari lead Libya in their most successful streak in the 80's when they almost snatched some premium silverware.
The country hosted the African Cup of Nations in 1982 and almost qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. After the UN embargo, the Libyan national football team made its comeback with a friendly match with Senegal.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Libya. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Libya
Libya Sporting Success
Great athletes from Libya
Libya Sports trivia
Libya at major events
Past sporting events hosted in Libya
- 1982 hosted the African Cup of Nations