The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has officially broken its silence on Nigeria’s player eligibility petition before FIFA.
Responding to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the Congolese football authorities have dismissed the player eligibility petition as a desperate attempt by Nigeria to secure a “backdoor” qualification after failing to win on the field.
In a post shared on the national team’s official X account on Wednesday, DR Congo dismissed Nigeria’s player eligibility petition, accusing the Super Eagles of attempting to overturn the result through administrative means.
“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 read.
In another post, the football body situated in Central Africa also shared pictures showing when a few of their players who switched nationality, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, met with the President of the country, Felix Tshisekedi.
The picture shared from FIFA’s website under the title, “Change of Association platform,” revealed some of their key players switching nationality from their previous countries to Congo, with dates of when the decision was finalised.
The development comes after DR Congo defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory in Morocco.
The victory ended the Super Eagles’ hopes of progressing to the FIFA intercontinental play-off.
However, reports suggest 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 country.
While FIFA reportedly cleared the players on the basis that they possessed valid DR Congo passports, it is alleged that they failed to formally renounce their previous citizenships, contrary to the Central African nation’s constitution, which does not permit dual nationality.
On Monday, Nigeria’s officials also confirmed that they had submitted a petition to FIFA to look into the eligibility of the players fielded by Congo.
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi made this known.
Sanusi stated: “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 passports. The rules are very clear, and we have submitted our petition.
“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 regulations; FIFA acts based on what is submitted to it. What we are saying is that the process was fraudulent.”
The development has boosted Nigeria’s hope of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The country had been condemned to missing back-to-back World Cups after failing to qualify for the 2022 edition in Qatar as well.
