The Democratic Republic of Congo Football Federation (FECOFA) has fired a strong warning at Nigeria and the Super Eagles, accusing them of attempting to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through what it described as “administrative shortcuts” rather than on-field merit.
FECOFA’s reaction followed a formal petition submitted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to FIFA, challenging the eligibility of several Congolese players fielded during the recent intercontinental play-off encounter decided by a 4–3 penalty shoot-out in Morocco.
That defeat extinguished Nigeria’s hopes of advancing to the next stage of qualification.
Despite the controversy, DR Congo have since been granted automatic passage into the final of the intercontinental play-off, where they will face the winner of the semi-final clash between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
At the centre of the dispute are reports alleging that between six and nine Congolese players who switched national allegiance failed to fully comply with domestic legal requirements before representing the Central African nation.
DR Congo’s constitution does not recognise dual nationality, raising questions about whether the affected players formally renounced their previous citizenships before donning the national colours.
While FIFA is said to have cleared the players on the basis that they held valid DR Congo passports, Nigerian officials argue that the clearance was granted without full disclosure of the players’ citizenship status under Congolese law.
FECOFA, however, has rejected the allegations in their entirety.
In a post shared on the national team’s official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, the federation accused Nigeria of trying to overturn a legitimate sporting outcome through legal manoeuvres.
The statement reads, “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 Congolese federation further reinforced its stance by sharing photographs of some naturalised players, including England-born defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, during an official meeting with President Félix Tshisekedi.
FECOFA also circulated images from FIFA’s “Change of Association” platform, showing documentation and dates confirming the players’ nationality switches.
Nigeria, however, remains adamant. Officials of the NFF have confirmed that a detailed petition has been submitted to FIFA, insisting that Congolese domestic laws were breached in the process of clearing the players.
“NFF has done the needful,” a member of the federation’s executive board revealed, adding, “Their constitution does not allow dual citizenship, and about six to nine players still had that status during the play-off. That is the loophole we are examining, and our lawyers have submitted the relevant documents to FIFA.”
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, also maintained that Nigeria’s complaint is rooted in legal inconsistencies rather than FIFA’s statutes.
Sanusi said, “The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual citizenship or nationality. Wan-Bissaka has a European passport; others have French or Dutch passports. The rules are very clear, and that is why we filed the petition.”
He added, “FIFA rules say once you possess a passport, you are eligible, and that is why they were cleared. But our position is that FIFA was misled. It is not FIFA’s role to enforce domestic laws; it acts based on information submitted to it. What we are alleging is that the process was fraudulent.”
The unfolding saga has revived faint hopes of a possible reprieve for Nigeria, who face the prospect of missing a second consecutive FIFA World Cup after also failing to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
DR Congo, for their part, have appeared at the World Cup only once, in 1974, when the country competed under the name Zaire.
