Nigeria accuses the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of violating the rules for qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and will seek its suspension from participation in the play-off match for qualifying for the World Cup. About this reports local publication Vanguard, citing a statement by the Secretary General of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi.
He said Nigeria had filed a formal protest with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), challenging the eligibility of some DRC players to participate in the intercontinental World Cup qualifying playoffs due to “irregularities regarding their nationality.” The Nigerians intend to seek the exclusion of the DRC national team from participation in the selection, since its players have dual citizenship, which is not recognized by the laws of the country.
“The laws of the DR Congo state that you cannot have dual citizenship. U [Эрона] Wan-Bissaki (footballer of the DRC national team – “AI”) has a European passport, some have French passports, some have Dutch passports. The rules are very clear and we have submitted our petition,” Sanusi said.
He explained that FIFA’s initial approval for DRC’s World Cup selection may have been based on inaccurate information because the federation did not check whether players were complying with DRC laws. In this regard, Nigeria insists that the admission of the Congolese team players was the result of fraud on their part.
“FIFA rules say that if you have a passport from your country, you are eligible to play, and from FIFA’s point of view, they are eligible to play. But what worries us now is that FIFA has been deceived. It is not the federation’s responsibility to enforce the laws of the DRC,” Sanusi emphasized.
According to the publication, if FIFA rules in favor of Nigeria, its national team may be allowed to participate in the intercontinental playoffs instead of the DRC team.
In November, Nigeria’s football team coach Eric Schell accused his rivals from the Democratic Republic of Congo of witchcraft after his team lost to the Congolese in a penalty shootout as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament: the national teams played 1:1 in regulation time, but the DRC footballers won the penalty shootout with a score of 3:4.
