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The football federation of the Democratic Republic of Congo has sent a warning to Nigeria and the Super Eagles against what they called “backdoor qualification” amid the eligibility reports.
The warning comes on the heels of the petition by the Nigeria Football Federation to FIFA protesting the eligibility of some of their fielded players in the recent play-off clash that led to a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory in Morocco.
The above result dashed the hopes of the Super Eagles progressing to the FIFA intercontinental play-off.
DR Congo will face the winner of the semi-final between New Caledonia and Jamaica after being handed a bye into the final of the intercontinental play-off tournament.
Reports allege that between six and nine DR Congo players who switched national allegiance may not have fully complied with the eligibility requirements under Congolese law before representing the nation.
The players have been cleared by FIFA on the basis that they possess valid DR Congo passports. However, there are claims that they failed to formally renounce their previous citizenships, which contradicts the Central African nation’s constitution, which does not permit dual nationality.
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Speaking in a post shared on the national team’s official X account on Wednesday, DR Congo accused Nigeria of trying to subvert the result via administrative means.
The post 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.”
In a different post, the body uploaded pictures of the moment a few players switched nationality, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Included in the post from FIFA’s website under the title, “Change of Association platform” are the dates some of their key players switched nationality from their previous countries to Congo.
See the image below:
