Italy repechage to World Cup, Congo refuses: what happens now
Not just Iran: with less than a month to go before the 2026 World Cup kicks off in Canada, the United States and Mexico, another case is troubling FIFA and the organizers of the rainbow event, and it involves the Democratic Republic of Congo. On Saturday Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, after reports of an outbreak of a rare strain of Ebola in the Central African country had enjoined the Congolese delegation to isolate themselves for 21 days before moving to the United States, on pain of exclusion from the World Cup.
Despite the words coming from Washington, the Democratic Republic of Congo selection has instead communicated that preparation precedes as planned and has refused the request to isolate themselves for three weeks before traveling to North America. Despite the threat of possible rejection of the team upon entry into the country, Congolese officials insist that their preparation program will not be altered and that they have no intention of altering their training schedule despite the U.S. authorities’ stern warning about strict health protocols.
Giuliani had been clear: “They have to maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can arrive in Houston on June 11. We have also made it very clear to the Congolese government that they must maintain this bubble or risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer than that.” According to Reuters, an executive from the Democratic Republic of Congo responded as follows, “We have maintained our training schedule. No players on the roster are from Congo. Friendly matches are still scheduled. The only change to the schedule was the cancellation of the Kinshasa leg.”
The team had initially planned a celebratory trip to the capital before the tournament, which will mark their return to the World Cup after 52 years, but those plans were canceled earlier this week. The Congolese federation says that since the entire roster of players and technical staff, including technical commissioner Sebastien Desabre, are based in Europe, the risk is minimal.
The situations of uncertainty are multiplying and the Azzurri, like other excluded selections, are watching as interested spectators as events unfold.
