Nigeria has said its complaint to FIFA over the eligibility of some Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) players in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers is strong and based on FIFA regulations.
National Sports Commission chairman Shehu Dikko said Nigerian authorities began monitoring DR Congo’s squad before the playoff matches, after noticing that players of other nationalities were named without confirmed FIFA clearance.
According to Dikko, concerns deepened when some players reportedly received clearance just a day before the matches, raising questions about the legality of the process. Nigeria has since consulted legal experts and submitted a formal complaint to FIFA.
He stressed that the move is not about being sore losers, but about enforcing FIFA’s strict rules on player nationality and eligibility, citing past sanctions against other countries for similar violations.
FIFA is currently reviewing the case, as Nigeria risks missing back-to-back World Cups for the first time since 1990.
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