2026 World Cup: FIFA knew Congo fielded ineligible player against Nigeria – Report

By Ayobami Okerinde

The International Federation of Association Football, FIFA, knew that the Democratic Republic of Congo had fielded an ineligible player but allowed the team to continue its World Cup qualification campaign, an investigation by The New York Times has revealed.

According to the report published Tuesday, FIFA’s own legal officials had privately determined that Congo had breached player eligibility rules after goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi failed to complete the required documentation to switch his international affiliation from France, where he had represented youth teams.

Despite the finding, FIFA allowed Mpasi to continue playing, and Congo went on to defeat Jamaica in March to secure its first World Cup appearance in 52 years.

The development has raised fresh questions over FIFA’s handling of Nigeria’s complaint against Congo, which came after the Central African side defeated the Super Eagles on penalties in the African play-off final in November 2025.

The defeat condemned Nigeria to a second consecutive World Cup miss, after also missing out on the 2022 edition in Qatar.

In December 2025, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) lodged a complaint with FIFA alleging that Congo had fielded players who were not properly eligible to represent the country.

The NFF’s complaint questioned the clearance of several foreign-born players, including Mpasi, and alleged that the Congolese federation had misled FIFA in securing their eligibility.

Documents and correspondence reviewed by The New York Times, alongside information from a senior official directly involved in the case, showed that FIFA officials had considered several possible sanctions against Congo, including awarding the match to Nigeria, imposing fines, replacing Congo with Nigeria in the play-off against Jamaica or taking no action on the grounds that Nigeria had filed its complaint late.

Under FIFA rules, fielding an ineligible player can result in a team forfeiting the match in which the player featured, as FIFA had previously taken a more decisive position in similar cases.

In 2016, FIFA sanctioned Greece after it fielded an ineligible player who had previously represented Australia at youth level, awarding a 3-0 defeat in its match against Turkey. Two years later, the governing body changed the results of two Bolivia World Cup qualifying matches after determining that Bolivia had fielded a player who had previously represented Paraguay.

Former NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau said he had been told that Nigeria’s complaint was rejected for technical reasons but was not informed that FIFA had found a problem with Mpasi’s eligibility.

“They just kept quiet, and they can’t tell anyone because they know it’s going to be a serious crisis for them,” Gusau told The New York Times while calling for an investigation.

The Times also said it reviewed a document that matched Gusau’s description of FIFA’s response to the Nigerian complaint.

The latest revelation also puts renewed focus on Infantino’s relationship with African football officials and the political importance of the continent within FIFA.

At the time FIFA was reviewing the Congo eligibility case, Véron Mosengo-Omba, an ally of Infantino, was preparing to contest for the presidency of the Congolese football federation.

Two months later, following Congo’s qualification for the World Cup, Mosengo-Omba emerged as the sole candidate and was elected president after eight other contenders had either withdrawn or been 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 raised questions over the potential consequences of FIFA removing Congo from the World Cup.

“If FIFA removed Congo from the World Cup,” he said, Infantino’s ally’s prospects “could have been damaged.”

Mosengo-Omba, however, said he was unaware of FIFA’s findings regarding Mpasi’s eligibility.

Jamaica, which Congo defeated to secure its World Cup berth, did not respond to request for comment.

CONCACAF, the football governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, meanwhile, expressed concern over the handling of eligibility complaints.

“Any concerns regarding player eligibility, particularly those that may affect the integrity of a competition or the interests of one of our member associations, need to be thoroughly reviewed and addressed,” it said.

The revelations come months after the 2026 World Cup, which itself faced questions over FIFA’s handling of disciplinary and political matters.

The tournament also came under scrutiny after FIFA lifted the suspension of United States forward, Folarin Balogun, following a reported phone call between Infantino and United States President Donald Trump.

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