Nigeria allege DR Congo ‘fraud’ as they hunt 2026 World Cup reprieve

Nigeria are hoping to revive their chances of reaching next year’s World Cup after submitting a complaint to Fifa which alleges that the Democratic Republic of Congo fielded ineligible players in last month’s African play-off final.

DR Congo beat the Super Eagles on penalties to book their place in March’s intercontinental qualifier, which will allocate the final two places up for grabs for the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

But Nigeria’s claim of “fraud” centres on a group of players who recently switched their international allegiance to their opponents.

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

But the Congolese Football Federation (Fecofa) has rejected the NFF’s challenge.

“Our contention is that Fifa was deceived into clearing them,” said NFF general secretary Mohammed Sanusi.

“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 NFF says it has submitted supporting documents and legal arguments to world football’s governing body.

The BBC has contacted Fifa for comment and is waiting to hear back.

Fecofa, however, has branded the petition as an attempt to “win via the back door”.

“The World Cup must be played with dignity and confidence. Not with lawyers’ tricks,” said a post on the Leopards’ official social media, external.

The message also described Nigeria as “bad losers” and dismissed the complaint as poor sportsmanship.