DR Congo Could Miss the World Cup Over Ebola Fears
Just weeks before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Democratic Republic of the Congo are facing a nightmare scenario that has nothing to do with football.
An Ebola outbreak inside the country is now threatening the team’s entire World Cup preparation — and potentially even their participation in the tournament itself.
Ebola Situation Declared an Emergency
The outbreak has been spreading since April and the numbers continue to rise quickly.
By late May, more than 600 Ebola cases and 139 deaths had already been reported in DR Congo. The World Health Organization has officially described the situation as an emergency.
The timing could hardly be worse.
The World Cup begins in less than a month, while the United States — one of the host countries — already has strict entry restrictions for anyone who recently visited DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan.
Under current rules, non-US citizens who have been in those countries during the previous three weeks are not allowed to enter the United States.
DR Congo Moved Training Camp to Belgium
Because of the outbreak, DR Congo decided not to hold their planned training camp in Kinshasa, despite the capital being around 1,800 kilometres away from the Ebola epicentre.
A scheduled meeting with supporters before the team’s departure for the World Cup was also cancelled.
Instead, the entire preparation camp has been moved to Belgium as the federation tries to avoid any risk connected to US travel restrictions.
Team representative Jerry Kalemo insisted that none of the national team players had recently returned to DR Congo. Initially, US authorities reportedly indicated that special measures similar to those applied to American citizens could be considered for certain delegation members.
But the situation quickly became more serious.
US Authorities Demand a 21-Day Isolation Period
According to Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House task force for the World Cup, DR Congo have been told they must complete a 21-day isolation period in Belgium before travelling to Houston for their opening game.
“We made it very clear to DR Congo that before arriving in Houston on June 11, the team must complete a 21-day quarantine,” Giuliani said.
He also warned that failure to comply could prevent the team from entering the United States entirely.
That creates a huge complication for DR Congo’s World Cup preparation plans, especially because the team still hopes to play two friendlies in Europe before the tournament begins — against Denmark national football team in Belgium on June 3 and Chile national football team in Spain six days later.
FIFA Is Monitoring the Situation
FIFA confirmed that it is closely monitoring developments and remains in contact with the Congolese federation.
The organisation stated it is working to ensure all medical and security recommendations are followed ahead of the tournament.
The Ebola outbreak is already affecting international events beyond football as well. An India-Africa summit scheduled in New Delhi was recently postponed because of the situation.
DR Congo Already Changed Their Squad Once
The squad itself has already suffered one setback before the tournament even started.
Rocky Bushiri was forced to withdraw after suffering an injury during the final round of the Scottish Premiership season. He was replaced by Aaron Tshibola.
Still, several well-known names remain in the squad, including Axel Tuanzebe, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Gaël Kakuta, Cédric Bakambu and former Spartak Moscow winger Théo Bongonda.
DR Congo are scheduled to open their World Cup campaign against Portugal national football team in Houston on June 17 before facing Colombia national football team and Uzbekistan national football team later in the group stage.
But right now, simply getting to the tournament has become the country’s biggest challenge.
Published by Patrick Jane
23.05.2026