Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz could face Nigeria in a final shot at World Cup 2026 qualification if the Super Eagles are successful in a complaint they filed to Fifa which alleges that the Democratic Republic of Congo fielded ineligible players in last month’s African play-off final.

The Reggae Boyz are set to contest the Fifa Inter-confederation play-off in March to book a ticket to the global showpiece in North America and Mexico next summer. They will face New Caledonia with the winner of that match set to clash with DR Congo for World Cup qualification.

However, the African representative in the three-team playoff group could change depending on the Fifa ruling on Nigeria’s protest against DR Congo, which had beaten the Super Eagles on penalties to book their place in March’s intercontinental qualifier.

According to the BBC, Nigeria’s claim of “fraud” centres on a group of players who recently switched their international allegiance to DR Congo.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) believes players such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe, both of whom featured in the match, were ineligible because Congolese law does not allow dual citizenship, the BBC reported.

The article quotes NFF general secretary Mohammed Sanusi saying, “Our contention is that Fifa was deceived into clearing them… The Congolese rule (law) says you cannot have dual nationality, but some of their players have European and French passports. There is what we consider to be a breach of (Fifa’s) regulations. We are saying it was fraudulent.”

The Congolese Football Federation (Fecofa) has rejected the NFF’s challenge as an attempt to “win via the back door”.

“If you can’t win on the pitch don’t try to win from the back door. The world Cup has to be played with dignity and confidence. Not with lawyers tricks. Bring it on,” Fecofa said in a post on social media. (Observer)

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