DR Congo hits back at Nigeria over World Cup player eligibility complaint
DR Congo has criticised Nigeria’s FIFA complaint over player eligibility in their World Cup playoff, accusing the Super Eagles of poor sportsmanship as FIFA reviews the NFF’s dual nationality claims.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has fired back at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) following reports that the Super Eagles filed a FIFA complaint questioning the eligibility of several players in last month’s World Cup playoff, which Nigeria lost 4-3 on penalties.
The win saw DR Congo advance to the March 2026 intercontinental playoffs at Nigeria’s expense, where they will face either New Macedonia or Jamaica for a chance to secure a ticket to the World Cup Finals scheduled for July in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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In a statement on X, DRC’s men’s team, The Leopards, implied that Nigeria was trying to overturn the result through “backdoor” means after failing on the pitch, criticising the use of legal tactics to challenge the outcome.
“If you can't win on the pitch, don't try to win from the back door. The World Cup has to be played with dignity and confidence. Not with lawyers' tricks,” The Leopards said.
Leopards slam Nigeria for poor sportsmanship
The Leopards also expressed confidence and readiness for FIFA’s determination of the allegations, further slamming Nigeria for poor sportsmanship.
“Bring it on! Go on, Leopards. Bad losers,” the team said.
Nigeria filed the complaint with FIFA, claiming that up to nine players used by DRC in the World Cup Qualifiers may not have been fully cleared to represent the country.
According to NFF, many of the players were born in Europe and may not have completed the process of giving up their previous passports before playing for The Leopards, raising questions about their eligibility.
NFF highlights dual nationality concerns
“The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual nationality," NFF Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi told reporters on Tuesday.
"There are so many of them that have European passports, some of them French passports, some of them Dutch passports. The rules are very clear. We cannot say anything now, but we have submitted our protest to FIFA.”
Under FIFA regulations, a player only needs to possess the passport of the country they wish to represent. The players in question were cleared to play for DR Congo based on holding valid Congolese passports.
“Our contention is that FIFA was deceived into clearing them because it is not the responsibility of FIFA to make sure that the regulations of Congo are abided by. FIFA goes by its own regulations, and it was on the basis of what was presented to FIFA that they cleared them. But we are saying that it was fraudulent,” Mohammed said.
The matter is currently being investigated by FIFA, according to Mohammed. If the appeal is successful, it could give the Super Eagles another shot at advancing in the World Cup Qualifiers.
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