The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is likely to be excluded from the 2026 World Cup intercontinental play-offs following an official complaint filed by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) with FIFA in recent hours.
DRC had advanced to the intercontinental play-offs after defeating Nigeria on penalties in the African play-off final held in Morocco during the last international break in November.
The NFF challenged the eligibility of nine Congolese players in the African play-offs with FIFA, arguing that Congolese law prohibits dual nationality, and therefore these players are ineligible to represent the national team.
Players such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, and eight others were required to prove they had renounced their other nationalities before representing DR Congo. According to Nigeria, otherwise their participation is invalid and necessitates the annulment of all of DR Congo’s results.
Nigerian Football Federation president Mohammed Sanusi explained the crisis, saying, “A large number of them hold European passports; some have French citizenship, others Dutch. The rules are very clear. We cannot say more at the moment, but we have filed a complaint with FIFA.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo is scheduled to play the winner of the New Caledonia-Jamaica match in the World Cup playoff final next March. If the African team wins, they will qualify for the World Cup and join a group with Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan.
