FIFA knew DR Congo played ineligible player against Nigeria in World Cup qualifier

FIFA, the world soccer governing body, was aware that the Democratic Republic of Congo used an ineligible player in the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Nigeria's Super Eagles. This was reported by The New York Times.

The match took place in November 2025 in Rabat, Morocco. It was the final for the CAF play-offs to qualify for the World Cup. DR Congo won the match 4-3 on penalties after it ended 1-1.

A report published on Tuesday stated that FIFA’s legal team found Congo broke player eligibility rules. Goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi did not finish the necessary paperwork to change his international allegiance from France, where he played in youth teams.

Despite this finding, FIFA let Mpasi keep playing. Congo later defeated Jamaica in March, securing its first World Cup spot in 52 years.

This situation raises new questions about how FIFA handled Nigeria’s complaint against Congo. Nigeria raised this complaint after Congo beat the Super Eagles on penalties in the African play-off final in November 2025.

The loss meant Nigeria missed out on the World Cup for the second time in a row, having also missed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In December 2025, the Nigeria Football Federation filed a complaint with FIFA. They claimed Congo played players who were not eligible to represent them.

The NFF questioned the eligibility of several foreign-born players, including Mpasi. They said the Congolese federation misled FIFA to secure these players' eligibility.

Documents reviewed by The New York Times and details from a senior official involved in the case showed that FIFA considered several possible actions against Congo. These included giving the match to Nigeria, imposing fines, replacing Congo with Nigeria in the play-off against Jamaica, or doing nothing since Nigeria filed its complaint late.

FIFA rules say that if a team fields an ineligible player, it can lose the match where that player played. FIFA has acted decisively in similar situations before.

In 2016, FIFA penalized Greece for using an ineligible player who had previously played for Australia at youth level. They awarded a 3-0 defeat to Greece in its match against Turkey. Two years later, FIFA changed the results of two Bolivia World Cup qualifying matches after finding Bolivia used a player who had played for Paraguay.

At the same time FIFA was looking into the Congo eligibility case, Véron Mosengo-Omba, a close ally of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, was getting ready to run for the presidency of the Congolese football federation.

Two months later, after Congo qualified for the World Cup, Mosengo-Omba became the only candidate and was elected president after eight other candidates withdrew or were disqualified due to new eligibility rules.

Prince Zelkifli Rahman Ngoufonja, known as Prince Zul, a former FIFA official from Cameroon, said the connection between Infantino and Mosengo-Omba raises concerns about what would happen if FIFA disqualified Congo 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 responded by saying he was unaware of FIFA’s findings about Mpasi’s eligibility.