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More than two months after the Nigeria Football Federation filed a formal petition with FIFA challenging the eligibility of players fielded by the Democratic Republic of Congo in last November’s 2026 World Cup African play-off final, the global governing body has yet to issue a ruling, leaving Nigeria’s qualification hopes suspended in regulatory uncertainty as the intercontinental play-offs in Mexico draw closer and fabricated verdicts circulate online.
Nigeria lost 4-3 on penalties to DR Congo at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, in November 2025, a defeat that handed the Leopards a place in the intercontinental play-offs, the last remaining route to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where they are scheduled to face the winner of a play-off between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
The NFF submitted its formal petition to FIFA on December 15, 2025, alleging that DR Congo fielded up to six players who did not meet eligibility requirements under Congolese domestic law.
The core of Nigeria’s complaint rests on two overlapping legal arguments. First, DR Congo’s domestic law does not recognise dual citizenship for adults, which the NFF argues should have disqualified players holding Belgian, English, French, or Dutch passports from representing the Leopards under FIFA’s eligibility regulations. Second, the NFF alleged that the Congolese Football Federation may have submitted incomplete or misleading documentation when applying to FIFA for clearance for those players. Among the players specifically named in the petition are Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who was born in Croydon, England, and represented England at youth level before switching allegiance to DR Congo, Axel Tuanzebe, a defender born in DR Congo but raised in the United Kingdom who played for England youth teams across multiple age groups, and Tephy Mavididi, a forward who also holds dual nationality.
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DR Congo has consistently rejected the petition’s premises, maintaining that FIFA’s own regulations on sporting nationality, rather than domestic citizenship law, govern international eligibility. The Congolese Football Federation has characterised the complaint as an attempt by Nigeria to “win via the back door.” NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi has countered that the complaint is grounded in clear regulatory violations, saying: “We have a good case. We do not venture into what would be an exercise in futility. As far as we are concerned, we have a strong case, and we are awaiting FIFA’s decision.”
The procedural pathway for FIFA’s ruling adds another layer of complexity. Only the FIFA Executive Committee, chaired by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, is authorised to formally announce a verdict on the NFF’s petition. Expectations had built in mid-February that a decision might coincide with a scheduled FIFA Ethics Committee meeting around that time, but the anticipated announcement did not materialise.
FIFA’s publication of its CAS and Football Annual Report 2025 during this period, which made no reference to the Nigerian petition despite its significance, generated fresh speculation about the timing and direction of a ruling.
The vacuum has been filled by misinformation. Fabricated documents purporting to show FIFA awarding Nigeria a 3-0 victory over DR Congo and reinstating the Super Eagles for the intercontinental play-offs circulated widely on social media in recent weeks. NFF Director of Communications Ademola Olajire moved to extinguish the speculation directly. “There is no decision from FIFA at this time. Any claims that a ruling has been made are false. FIFA has not communicated any verdict to the NFF or the Congolese federation,” he said, warning the public to disregard what the federation described as entirely fake information.
African football analyst Mamadou Gaye, speaking on SuperSport’s Soccer Africa programme, urged Nigerian supporters to resist the impulse to read the delay as an adverse signal. He cited the case of Bafana Bafana, from whom FIFA deducted three points for fielding midfielder Teboho Mokoena in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho, a ruling that came only days before the final Group C matches, demonstrating that FIFA’s disciplinary process can run until the very last moment before outcomes crystallise.
“We should wait for FIFA to make the decision,” Gaye said. “Nigeria should remain calm and prepared.” He added that any party dissatisfied with the initial ruling retains the right to escalate the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The stakes for both federations are considerable. Should FIFA award Nigeria a 3-0 forfeit win, that outcome would not automatically guarantee the Super Eagles a place in the intercontinental play-offs, it could also trigger replays or other adjustments, and other nations such as Cameroon have been cited as potential beneficiaries depending on the specific grounds of any ruling.
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For DR Congo, qualification for the 2026 tournament would represent their return to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when they competed as Zaire. Nigeria, bronze medallists at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and having missed the 2022 World Cup, faces the prospect of a second consecutive absence from the global tournament.
The NFF has made clear it is preparing for all contingencies. The federation confirmed that the Super Eagles will play international friendlies against Jordan and Iran during the March window, dates that coincide with the intercontinental play-off schedule, in what the federation has described as a measure to keep the squad match-ready regardless of FIFA’s eventual determination.
No timeline for a FIFA ruling has been communicated to either the NFF or the Congolese federation as of the time of publication.
