Report: FIFA knew of Congo player eligibility breach before Nigeria defeat

FIFA officials reportedly knew that the Democratic Republic of Congo had used an ineligible player during its World Cup qualifying campaign but chose to allow the team to continue, an investigation by The New York Times has revealed.

The newspaper reported on Tuesday that FIFA’s legal officials had privately determined that Congo violated player eligibility regulations after goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi failed to complete the necessary paperwork to change his international affiliation from France.

Mpasi had previously represented France at youth level.

Despite the internal finding, FIFA permitted Mpasi to continue playing for Congo, which later defeated Jamaica in March to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 52 years.

The development has reopened questions about FIFA’s response to a complaint filed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after Congo eliminated Nigeria on penalties in the African play-off final in November 2025.

The result condemned the Super Eagles to a second consecutive World Cup absence, following their failure to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

The NFF submitted its complaint to FIFA in December 2025, alleging that Congo had fielded players who were not eligible to represent the country.

Nigeria specifically questioned the eligibility of a number of foreign-born players, including Mpasi, and accused the Congolese football authorities of misleading FIFA in obtaining their clearances.

The New York Times said documents and correspondence it reviewed, together with information from a senior official involved in the case, showed that FIFA considered several possible responses.

Among the options were awarding the relevant match to Nigeria, issuing fines against Congo, replacing Congo with Nigeria in the play-off against Jamaica, or taking no action because Nigeria’s complaint was considered to have been submitted late.

FIFA rules provide for a team to forfeit a match if it fields an ineligible player. The governing body has imposed such sanctions in previous cases.

Greece, for example, was sanctioned in 2016 after fielding a player who had previously represented Australia at youth level, with FIFA awarding Turkey a 3-0 victory.

In 2018, FIFA also changed the results of two Bolivia World Cup qualifiers after finding that Bolivia had fielded a player who previously represented Paraguay.

Former NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau said he was informed that Nigeria’s complaint had been rejected for technical reasons. However, he said he was not told that FIFA had found an issue 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 demanding an investigation.

The newspaper said it had also reviewed a document consistent with Gusau’s account of FIFA’s response to Nigeria’s complaint.

Questions over FIFA-Congo relationship

The report has also placed fresh focus on FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s relationship with African football officials and the importance of the continent within FIFA politics.

At the time FIFA was examining the Congo eligibility issue, Infantino ally Véron Mosengo-Omba was preparing to run for president of the Congolese football federation.

Following Congo’s qualification for the World Cup two months later, Mosengo-Omba emerged as the only candidate and won the election after eight other contenders either withdrew or were disqualified after changes to eligibility rules.

Prince Zelkifli Rahman Ngoufonja, a former FIFA official from Cameroon popularly known as Prince Zul, said the relationship between Infantino and Mosengo-Omba raised questions about the possible impact of a FIFA decision to remove 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 denied having knowledge of FIFA’s findings concerning Mpasi’s eligibility.

Jamaica, the team Congo defeated to secure its World Cup ticket, did not respond to requests for comment.

CONCACAF also called for eligibility complaints to be properly investigated.

“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,” the organisation said.

The latest revelations come amid wider scrutiny of FIFA’s handling of disciplinary and political matters surrounding the 2026 World Cup.

FIFA also faced criticism after suspending the ban imposed on United States forward Folarin Balogun following a reported telephone conversation between Infantino and US President Donald Trump.

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