Eight months unpaid: Aliou Cisse’s future in doubt as Libya crisis deepens

Libya’s national team project under Aliou Cissé has been thrown into uncertainty after the country’s football federation admitted it has not paid the Senegalese coach for eight months, intensifying concerns over his future just days before the March international break.

Federation president Abdulmola Al-Maghribi disclosed the salary backlog amid what he described as a crippling financial crisis within the governing body.

According to him, state funding received last year covered only six months of wages for Cissé and his technical staff. Since then, the federation has struggled to meet its contractual obligations, leaving the former Senegal boss and his backroom team in limbo.

The situation has already escalated beyond internal discussions. One assistant coach reportedly filed a formal complaint in pursuit of outstanding payments and threatened to escalate the matter to FIFA.

The federation managed to settle that specific claim from its own limited resources, but it remains unable to clear the broader debt owed to Cissé and the rest of the staff.

Cissé, 49, was appointed in March 2025 on a contract running until 2027, tasked with rebuilding a Libyan side that has endured a turbulent period. His reported monthly salary of $80,000 is considered substantial by domestic standards, further complicating the federation’s financial strain.

The crisis comes at a delicate time. Libya are scheduled to face Niger and Benin in friendly matches in Morocco during the current international window, fixtures designed to lay the groundwork for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Instead, preparations have been overshadowed by administrative instability.

Results on the pitch have offered little relief. Libya failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, missed out on the next World Cup, and were absent from the recent Arab Cup in Doha. With confidence already fragile, the mounting financial turmoil now threatens to derail any progress under Cissé before it has a genuine chance to take hold.