The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has formally petitioned FIFA over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DR Congo) alleged use of ineligible players during the recent African World Cup playoffs.
DR Congo defeated Nigeria’s Super Eagles 4–3 on penalties in the playoff final, securing a place in the inter-confederation playoffs, where they are scheduled to face the winner of Jamaica versus New Caledonia for a slot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Several players who featured for DR Congo in the playoffs were reportedly foreign-born and only recently cleared to represent the country.
Under Congolese law, dual nationality is not recognised, except for children born abroad to Congolese parents, who may hold dual citizenship only until the age of 21, after which they are required to renounce one nationality.
The defeat eliminated Nigeria from qualifying for a second consecutive World Cup, following the Super Eagles’ failure to reach the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Speaking on the petition, NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi accused the Congolese Football Association of allegedly misleading FIFA in securing clearance for players whose nationality status, he claimed, violates DR Congo’s citizenship laws.
Sanusi said Congolese law clearly prohibits dual nationality, yet several players in the Leopards squad reportedly possess both Congolese and European passports.
He described the alleged action as fraudulent, insisting the players should not have been eligible for selection.
“FIFA cleared the players because FIFA’s eligibility rule is different from DR Congo’s rule. FIFA regulations state that once a player holds a country’s passport, he is eligible,” Sanusi said.
“However, our contention is that FIFA was deceived into granting that clearance. It is not FIFA’s responsibility to enforce DR Congo’s internal laws.
The players were cleared based on information presented to FIFA, and we believe that information was fraudulent.”
The NFF said it is awaiting FIFA’s response to the petition as it continues efforts to challenge the outcome of the playoff.