Editor’s Note (Update, March 2026): The Nigeria Football Federation has since stated that it has not received any official verdict from FIFA regarding its petition over the eligibility of players used by the DR Congo national football team. FIFA is understood to still be reviewing the complaint.
Nigeria’s chances of reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup have suffered a major setback after fresh communication from the sport’s global governing body effectively affirmed the qualification of the Democratic Republic of Congo for the upcoming intercontinental play-off tournament.
In an accreditation update circulated ahead of the play-off competition in Mexico, FIFA listed the DR Congo national football team as Africa’s representative, a development that signals the dismissal of Nigeria’s challenge over the outcome of the Confederation of African Football play-off final.
The dispute arose from the decisive fixture played in November 2025, when the Nigeria national football team faced the Congolese side for a place in the global qualifying play-offs. The encounter ended 1–1 after regulation time before the Leopards prevailed in a penalty shoot-out.
Following the defeat, the Nigeria Football Federation lodged a formal protest with FIFA, contesting the eligibility of several players fielded by the Congolese team. The federation alleged that between six and nine footballers, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe, were not qualified to represent the country.
According to the Nigerian federation, its argument centred on citizenship provisions under Congolese law. Officials maintained that the Central African nation does not formally recognise dual nationality and therefore players holding European citizenship should not have been eligible to represent the country unless they had renounced their other nationality.
The NFF’s General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, explained that although FIFA approved the players based on the passports they presented, the federation believed the governing body had been misled regarding their status.
However, FIFA’s latest communication has indicated that the governing body found no sufficient grounds to disqualify the Congolese side. By including DR Congo in the official tournament line-up distributed to international media organisations, the organisation effectively confirmed the participants for the play-off competition.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026™ Play-Off Tournament will see six teams fight it out for the final two places at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States across 16 Host Cities,” the statement read. “All of the six teams have now been decided, with Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname confirmed as qualifiers.”
A source familiar with the matter told NationSport that the Nigerian federation may have to wait longer for any formal ruling on its petition. The insider said, “Nigerians’ wait for a verdict on the NFF’s protest against the DRC will go on for long.”
The inter-confederation play-off tournament will hold in Mexico later this month. As one of the highest-ranked sides in the draw, DR Congo has been placed on a seeded path and will meet the winner of the semi-final between New Caledonia national football team and Jamaica national football team in the final scheduled for 31 March.
For Nigeria, the development raises the likelihood of a second successive absence from the global football showpiece after missing the tournament staged in Qatar in 2022. The 2026 competition will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.