DR Congo World Cup Plans Altered by Ebola Outbreak
The Democratic Republic of the Congo will head to their first World Cup in half a century without the emotional send-off they had planned at home, after an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country forced a drastic change of plans.
A three-day training camp and farewell ceremony in Kinshasa have been cancelled, with the federation moving preparations abroad in response to the spread of a rare strain of the virus, Bundibugyo Ebola, which has killed more than 130 people and led to nearly 600 suspected cases. The World Health Organization has labelled the situation a public health emergency of international concern, and football has had to fall in line.
Only the Kinshasa leg is gone. The rest of the Leopards’ route to the World Cup remains intact.
Camp torn up, schedule holds
Jerry Kalemo, the team’s spokesman, laid out the reshaped plan. The squad will continue their buildup in Europe, then cross the Atlantic.
“There were three stages of preparation: in Kinshasa to say goodbye to the public, Belgium and Spain with two friendly matches … and the third stage from 11 June in Houston. Only one stage was cancelled – the one in Kinshasa,” he said.
The warm‑up fixtures stay on the calendar. DR Congo face Denmark in Liège on 3 June, then Chile in southern Spain on 9 June. Both games are set to go ahead as originally scheduled, crucial tune‑ups before a daunting World Cup debut in modern times.
From 11 June, the focus shifts fully to the United States. Houston becomes home, and with it the final sprint to a historic tournament for a country returning to the global stage for the first time since 1974, when they played as Zaïre.
Ebola, borders and a World Cup
Football preparations are now running alongside a tightening global health response.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that the United States will bar entry for all foreign nationals who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous three weeks. The 30‑day ban raised immediate questions about the Leopards’ arrival and their travelling party.
A US official moved quickly to clarify: the national team will not be hit by the entry restrictions. All players and head coach Sébastien Desabre are based outside the DRC, most of them in France, and the squad have been training in Europe for several weeks. Those who have not set foot in the country in the past 21 days fall outside the scope of the ban.
The picture is more complicated for those who did return home during that period. Members of the official World Cup delegation who have been in the DRC within the last three weeks will face the same quarantine rules as US citizens coming back from affected countries. The carve‑out does not extend to supporters; fans hoping to follow the Leopards to the US will be subject to the full force of the CDC restrictions.
Fifa, for its part, said it is monitoring the outbreak and remains in close contact with the DRC federation, Fecofa, to ensure the team receive all medical and security guidance. Inside the US government, the White House World Cup taskforce, based within the Department of Homeland Security, has stressed that it is coordinating across agencies on health and security and is closely tracking developments.
Leopards step back onto the world stage
On the pitch, this is a landmark moment. DR Congo booked their ticket by beating Jamaica in a playoff in Mexico, punching their way into Group K and a demanding schedule spread across the US.
They open against Portugal in Houston on 17 June, a clash that will test Desabre’s side against one of the tournament’s heavyweights. Colombia await in Guadalajara on 23 June, before a final group game against Uzbekistan in Atlanta on 27 June. Three cities, three very different tests, and the weight of 50 years of absence on their shoulders.
Desabre’s 26‑man squad reflects the country’s growing diaspora in European football. Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa offers cutting edge in attack. Sunderland midfielder Noah Sadiki brings energy and legs in the middle of the pitch. At the back, West Ham full‑back Aaron Wan‑Bissaka adds Premier League pedigree and one‑v‑one defensive steel.
There has already been one enforced change. Hibernian centre‑back Rocky Bushiri, initially named in the squad, has withdrawn with a suspected achilles injury. His place goes to another Scottish Premiership player, Kilmarnock’s Aaron Tshibola, who steps into a defensive unit that will be under scrutiny from the first whistle in Houston.
The cancelled Kinshasa farewell means the Leopards will leave without the roar of a home crowd ringing in their ears, but it also underlines the scale of the crisis facing the country they represent.
Power shift at Fecofa
While the national team adjusts its route to the World Cup, power has shifted at the top of the federation.
Véron Mosengo‑Omba, the former general secretary of the Confederation of African Football, has been elected president of Fecofa. He ran unopposed and secured 60 of 65 possible votes, a commanding mandate as he steps into one of the most scrutinised roles in Congolese sport.
Mosengo‑Omba resigned from his Caf post in March after five years in the job. A long‑time ally and university friend of Fifa president Gianni Infantino, he followed him from Uefa to Fifa in 2016, then moved to Caf in 2021. Now he takes charge at home at the very moment DR Congo return to the World Cup spotlight.
A federation under new leadership. A squad scattered across Europe, converging on America. A country grappling with a deadly outbreak while its footballers chase a dream last lived in 1974.
The farewell in Kinshasa will have to wait. The world will judge them instead on the noise they make in Houston, Guadalajara and Atlanta.
