by Nigerian News24 Correspondents
The Democratic Republic of Congo Football Federation has issued a stern warning to Nigeria and the Super Eagles over what it described as attempts to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through “administrative shortcuts.”
The Congolese football body was reacting to a petition reportedly submitted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to FIFA, challenging the eligibility of some DR Congo players fielded in their recent play-off encounter. The match ended in a 4–3 penalty shootout victory for DR Congo in Morocco, a result that eliminated Nigeria from contention for the FIFA intercontinental play-off.
Following the win, DR Congo was handed a bye into the final of the intercontinental play-off tournament, where they are set to face the winner of the semi-final between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
Reports had claimed that between six and nine DR Congo players who switched national allegiance may not have fully complied with eligibility requirements under Congolese law before representing the country. While FIFA reportedly cleared the players on the basis that they held valid DR Congo passports, it was alleged that they failed to formally renounce their previous nationalities, contrary to the country’s constitution, which does not recognise dual citizenship.
In a post shared on the national team’s official X account on Wednesday, the Congolese football body dismissed the allegations and accused Nigeria of seeking to overturn the match result off the pitch.
“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 stated.
In another post, the federation shared photographs of some players who changed nationality, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, during a meeting with DR Congo President, Félix Tshisekedi. It also referenced images from FIFA’s “Change of Association” platform showing the dates when several players formally switched allegiance from their former countries to DR Congo.
Nigeria’s football authorities had earlier confirmed submitting a petition to FIFA over the matter. A member of the NFF executive board told PUNCH Online on Monday that the federation had taken the necessary steps, arguing that Congo’s constitution does not permit dual citizenship and that several players allegedly held multiple nationalities at the time of the play-off.
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, also confirmed the petition, insisting that the players’ switch breached Congolese domestic laws.
“We’re waiting. The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual citizenship or nationality,” Sanusi said. “Wan-Bissaka has a European passport; some have French passports, others Dutch passports. We have submitted our petition.”
He added that while FIFA rules recognise eligibility based on possession of a valid national passport, Nigeria’s concern is that FIFA may have been misled during the clearance process.
The development has renewed Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup after missing out on the 2022 tournament in Qatar. DR Congo, for their part, have featured at the FIFA World Cup only once, in 1974, when the country competed as Zaire.