FIFA knew DR Congo fielded ineligible player against Nigeria — Report
by Moronfolu Adeyemi · The Eagle OnlineFIFA officials were aware of a player eligibility issue involving Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) during its 2026 World Cup play-off final against Nigeria, according to a report by The New York Times.
The match was played in November 2025 in Rabat, Morocco, with DR Congo advancing 4-3 on penalties after the encounter ended 1-1.
According to the report published on Tuesday, FIFA’s legal officials had privately concluded that DR Congo had breached eligibility regulations after goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi did not complete the required documentation to change his international affiliation from France, where he had played at youth level.
Despite the internal finding, FIFA allowed Mpasi to continue playing, and DR Congo later defeated Jamaica in March to secure a place at the 2026 World Cup, its first appearance at the tournament in 52 years.
The report has renewed scrutiny of FIFA’s handling of Nigeria’s complaint against DR Congo after the Central African side eliminated the Super Eagles on penalties in the African play-off final.
The loss left Nigeria out of the World Cup for a second successive edition after the Super Eagles also failed to qualify for Qatar 2022.
In December 2025, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) filed a complaint with FIFA over the eligibility of players fielded by DR Congo.
The complaint challenged the clearance of several foreign-born players, including Mpasi, and alleged that the Congolese federation had provided FIFA with misleading information in securing their eligibility.
The New York Times said documents and correspondence it reviewed, together with information from a senior official directly involved in the matter, showed that FIFA considered several possible responses.
Those options reportedly included awarding the match to Nigeria, imposing financial penalties, replacing DR Congo with Nigeria in the play-off against Jamaica, or taking no action on the grounds that Nigeria’s complaint had been submitted late.
Under FIFA rules, fielding an ineligible player can lead to a forfeit, with the governing body having previously imposed such sanctions in comparable cases.
In 2016, FIFA sanctioned Greece after it fielded a player who had previously represented Australia at youth level, awarding a 3-0 defeat in its match against Turkey.
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Two years later, FIFA altered the results of two Bolivia World Cup qualifying matches after determining that Bolivia had fielded a player who had previously represented Paraguay.
The report also examined the political backdrop surrounding the Congo case.
At the time FIFA was reviewing the eligibility issue, Véron Mosengo-Omba, described in the report as an ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, was preparing to contest the presidency of the Congolese football federation.
Two months after DR Congo qualified for the World Cup, Mosengo-Omba became the sole candidate and was elected president after eight other contenders either withdrew or were disqualified following changes to eligibility rules.
Cameroonian former FIFA official Prince Zelkifli Rahman Ngoufonja, popularly known as Prince Zul, said the relationship between Infantino and Mosengo-Omba could have created consequences for the latter if DR Congo had been removed from the World Cup.
He said: “If FIFA removed Congo from the World Cup,” Infantino’s ally’s prospects “could have been damaged.”
Mosengo-Omba, however, said he was unaware of FIFA’s findings concerning Mpasi’s eligibility.
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