The Democratic Republic of Congo Football Federation (FECOFA) has rejected Nigeria’s protest over players’ eligibility and cautioned the Super Eagles against what it described as an attempt to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup “through the back door”.
The Congolese body was responding to a petition submitted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to FIFA, challenging the eligibility of several DR Congo players fielded in their recent play-off encounter in Morocco. The tie ended 4–3 on penalties in favour of DR Congo, a result that dashed Nigeria’s hopes of advancing to the FIFA intercontinental play-off.
Following the match, DR Congo were handed a bye into the final of the intercontinental play-off tournament, where they are due to face the winner of the semi-final between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
Reports have claimed that between six and nine Congolese players who switched international allegiance may not have fully complied with eligibility requirements under DR Congo’s domestic laws, which prohibit dual citizenship. Although FIFA reportedly cleared the players after confirming they held valid DR Congo passports, it is alleged that some failed to formally renounce their previous nationalities.
In a strongly worded post on the national team’s official X account on Wednesday, FECOFA dismissed the allegations and accused Nigeria of seeking to overturn the result by administrative means.
“If you can’t win on the pitch, don’t try to win from the back door. The World Cup must be played with dignity and confidence — not with legal tricks. Bring it on,” the post read.
The Congolese federation also shared images showing some of the players who changed nationality — including Aaron Wan-Bissaka — during a courtesy visit to President Félix Tshisekedi, alongside screenshots from FIFA’s “Change of Association” platform indicating when the nationality switches were finalised.
Nigeria’s officials confirmed earlier this week that a formal complaint had been lodged with FIFA. A member of the NFF executive board said that the petition centred on DR Congo’s constitutional ban on dual citizenship.
“Their constitution does not allow dual citizenship, and about six to nine players had that status during the play-off. That is the loophole we are exploring,” the official said, adding that the federation’s lawyers had submitted relevant documents to FIFA.
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, also confirmed the action, insisting that FIFA may have been misled during the clearance process.
“FIFA rules say once you have a passport of your country, you’re eligible, and that is why they were cleared,” Sanusi said. “But our concern is that FIFA was deceived into clearing them. It is not FIFA’s responsibility to enforce Congo’s domestic regulations; FIFA acts based on what is submitted to it. What we are saying is that the process was fraudulent.”
The dispute has revived Nigeria’s faint hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, after the Super Eagles failed to reach the 2022 tournament in Qatar. DR Congo, for their part, have featured at the World Cup only once — at the 1974 finals in Germany, when the country competed as Zaire.
