African qualifiers will be examined by FIFA; to understand

The Nigeria Football Federation has filed a formal petition with FIFA against the Democratic Republic of Congo, who eliminated the Nigerians in the play-offs. According to the “Peoples Gazette” website, the request presented aims to modify the result of the African draft and to give the country access to the intercontinental draft.

The Nigerians claim that the Congolese have used players who are not capable of defending their national team. Another argument put forward is that many of the Congolese players who chose to defend the central African country did not renounce their second nationality, which is a requirement of the country’s constitution.

According to FIFA rules, players must comply with the rules of the body that governs world football and their country. Additionally, a motion must be filed.

“The law of the Democratic Republic of Congo does not allow dual nationality, but some of the players concerned are said to have dual nationality. It is not the role of FIFA to know the national laws of each country; that is why we have formally brought the matter to the attention of FIFA and are now awaiting its decision,” said Sanusi Mohammed, secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation.

According to the Nigerian press, it is not yet clear whether FIFA will agree with Nigeria in the process and, therefore, classify the Super Eagles for next year’s intercontinental qualifier conflict. Another scenario would be the ranking of another African team.

During the African qualifiers, Congo achieved a historic feat by eliminating Cameroon and Nigeria respectively, two historic forces in African football. With this, the Leopards left behind eight Africa Cup of Nations titles.

The ranking was done in emotion, when the Congolese beat Nigeria 4 to 3, on penalties. This rewarded a strong cycle for the Leopards, who in the World Cup qualifiers finished second in Group B, which also included Senegal, and resulted in a fierce fight between the two teams for first place, which ended up going to the Lions of Teranga.

Apart from that, the Congolese qualified for the two African Cups of Nations of the cycle. In the 2024 edition, they finished in second place in the same group, which also included Morocco, and fell in the semi-finals after losing to champions Ivory Coast and were excluded from the podium after losing on penalties to South Africa, the surprise of the competition. This year, the Leopards are in Group D, alongside Senegal, Benin and Botswana.