The football federation of the Democratic Republic of Congo has strongly warned Nigeria and the Super Eagles against qualifying for the 2026 World Cup through what it described as “backdoor”.

The football body was reacting to the recent petition by the Nigeria Football Federation to FIFA protesting the eligibility of some of their fielded players in the recent play-off clash that led to a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory in Morocco, a result that ended the Super Eagles’ hopes of progressing to the FIFA intercontinental play-off.

The Congolese side has since been handed a bye into the final of the intercontinental play-off tournament, where they are scheduled to face the winner of the semi-final between New Caledonia and Jamaica.

Reports suggest that between six and nine DR Congo players who switched national allegiance may not have fully complied with the eligibility requirements under Congolese law before representing the country.

While FIFA reportedly cleared the players on the basis that they possessed valid DR Congo passports, it is alleged that they failed to formally renounce their previous citizenships, contrary to the Central African nation’s constitution, which does not permit dual nationality.

However, in a post shared on the national team’s official X account on Wednesday, DR Congo dismissed the allegations and accused Nigeria of attempting to overturn the result through administrative means.

“If you can’t win on the pitch, don’t try to win from the back door. The World Cup must be played with dignity and confidence — not with legal tricks. Bring it on,” the post read.

In another post, the football body situated in Central Africa also shared pictures showing when a few of their players who switched nationality, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, met with the President of the country, Felix Tshisekedi.

The picture shared from FIFA’s website under the title, “Change of Association platform,” revealed some of their key players switching nationality from their previous countries to Congo, with dates of when the decision was finalised.

Recall that on Monday, Nigeria’s officials confirmed that they had submitted a petition to FIFA to look into the eligibility of the players fielded by Congo.

“NFF has done the needful,” a member of the federation’s executive board told PUNCH Online.

“Their constitution does not allow dual citizenship, and about six to nine players had that status during the play-off. That is the loophole we are exploring. Our lawyers must have submitted the relevant documents to FIFA as well.”

NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, also confirmed that the NFF has faulted the players’ switch.

“We’re waiting. The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual citizenship or nationality,” Sanusi said. “Wan-Bissaka has a European passport; some of them have French passports, others Dutch passports. The rules are very clear, and we have submitted our petition.

“FIFA rules say once you have a passport of your country, you’re eligible, and that is why they were cleared,” Sanusi explained. “But our concern is that FIFA was deceived into clearing them. It is not FIFA’s responsibility to enforce Congo’s domestic regulations; FIFA acts based on what is submitted to it. What we are saying is that the process was fraudulent.”

The development has boosted Nigeria’s hope of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The country had been condemned to missing back-to-back World Cups after failing to qualify for the 2022 edition in Qatar as well.

DR Congo, meanwhile, has appeared at the FIFA World Cup on one occasion in 1974 when they were known as Zaire. (PUNCH)

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