The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has not yet officially booked a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Their qualification hopes stayed alive after defeating Nigeria in the African play-off final, earning a place in the intercontinental qualifiers. However, fresh allegations now threaten to derail that dream, with Nigeria accusing DR Congo of fielding ineligible players.
Nigeria Raises ‘Illegal Player’ Complaint to FIFA
According to a report by the BBC, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has formally approached FIFA, claiming that DR Congo used players who were not eligible under national law during the African play-off final. Nigeria argues that DR Congo violated regulations by fielding players with dual nationality, which is not permitted under Congolese law.
NFF General Secretary Mohamed Sanusi strongly defended Nigeria’s position, stating:
“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒘 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑬𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.”
Nigeria alleges that players such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe were involved, raising questions over player eligibility and compliance with domestic legislation.
Congo Rejects Claims, Calls Allegations ‘Unsporting’
The Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) has firmly dismissed the accusations, calling them an attempt by Nigeria to overturn the result through non-sporting means. FECOFA insists the claims lack merit and accuses Nigeria of poor sportsmanship following defeat.
Responding to the allegations, Congolese officials said:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
They further described Nigeria as a “badly beaten” side seeking excuses after losing the decisive match.
What FIFA Could Decide Next
Nigeria has reportedly submitted supporting documents to FIFA, though the world football governing body has yet to issue an official response. FIFA regulations generally allow players to represent a chosen country, provided approval is granted by the FIFA Player Status Committee. While holding multiple passports is not automatically forbidden under FIFA rules, Congolese law itself reportedly prohibits dual citizenship, making this case complex.
Several outcomes remain possible:
- Case dismissed: FIFA may close the complaint if evidence is deemed insufficient, allowing DR Congo to continue their World Cup journey.
- Administrative action: FIFA could investigate and impose fines or warnings without affecting Congo’s qualification status.
- Sporting sanctions: In a serious scenario, FIFA or CAF could annul matches or deduct points, which could ultimately cost DR Congo their World Cup chance.
For now, DR Congo’s World Cup hopes hang in the balance as FIFA considers whether the allegations warrant further action.
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