The Democratic Republic of Congo Football Federation has issued a stern warning to Nigeria and the Super Eagles, accusing them of attempting to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through what it described as “backdoor” tactics.
The reaction followed a petition submitted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to FIFA, challenging the eligibility of several Congolese players who featured in a recent intercontinental play-off clash decided by a 4–3 penalty shoot-out in Morocco. The result eliminated Nigeria from the competition, while DR Congo advanced and was later granted a bye into the final of the intercontinental play-off, 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 Congolese players who switched national allegiance may not have fully complied with eligibility requirements under DR Congo’s domestic laws before representing the country. Although FIFA reportedly cleared the players after confirming they held valid Congolese passports, critics argue that they failed to formally renounce their previous nationalities, a requirement under the country’s constitution, which does not recognise dual citizenship.
In a post shared on the national team’s official X account on Wednesday, DR Congo dismissed the allegations and accused Nigeria of seeking to overturn the match result through administrative channels.
“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.
The Congolese federation also shared images of some nationality-switch players, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, during a courtesy visit to President Felix Tshisekedi. Additional images from FIFA’s “Change of Association” platform showed details of players who officially switched allegiance to Congo, along with the dates their decisions were finalised.
Nigeria’s football authorities confirmed on Monday that a formal petition had been submitted to FIFA to review the eligibility of the players fielded by DR Congo.
“NFF has done the needful,” a member of the federation’s executive board said. “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. Our lawyers have submitted the relevant documents to FIFA.”
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, also confirmed the move, insisting that the federation was challenging the legitimacy of the players’ nationality switches.
“We’re waiting. The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual citizenship or nationality,” Sanusi said. “Wan-Bissaka has a European passport; some of them have French passports, others Dutch. The rules are very clear, and we have submitted our petition.”
He added that while FIFA regulations recognise possession of a valid passport as sufficient for eligibility, Nigeria believes the process that led to FIFA’s clearance was flawed.
“FIFA rules say once you have a passport of your country, you’re eligible, and that is why they were cleared. But our concern is that FIFA was deceived into clearing them. It is not FIFA’s responsibility to enforce Congo’s domestic laws; FIFA acts on what is presented. What we are saying is that the process was fraudulent,” Sanusi said.
The dispute has revived Nigeria’s hopes of securing a place at the 2026 World Cup, after the Super Eagles missed out on the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
DR Congo, on the other hand, have appeared at the FIFA World Cup only once, in 1974, when the country competed under the name Zaire.
