The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) team canceled its preparation training for the 2026 World Cup in the capital, Kinshasa, to move them to Belgium due to the Ebola outbreak in the east of the country, while maintaining its friendly matches in Europe, including one in Spain.
This was confirmed to EFE this Thursday by telephone by the special advisor to the Congolese Sports Minister, Alain Makengo. “Following the Ebola virus epidemic, the Government and the (Congolese Football) Federation decided to move all training matches that were scheduled here in Kinshasa,” declared Makengo, confirming the dispute of friendly matches in Europe.
“The first match will be played on June 3 in Liege (Belgium) against Denmark, while the second is scheduled for June 9 in Spain, against Chile,” said the advisor. The match in Spanish territory is scheduled to be played at the Municipal Stadium of La Línea de la Concepción (province of Cádiz, south).
Makengo assured that the necessary diplomatic efforts have been made with the two European countries to hold these preparation matches for the Soccer World Cup, which will take place between June 11 and July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“We call on Congolese residents in Belgium and Spain, as well as those in neighboring countries, to come en masse to support their national team, which is very motivated ahead of the 2026 World Cup, concluded the advisor.
The Congolese team was training for the tournament in Kinshasa, a city in which no cases have yet been recorded and which is located about 2,000 kilometers from the province of Ituri, the epicenter of the Ebola epidemic.
Entry restriction to the US
Although the United States announced this Monday the restriction of the entry of travelers coming from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, countries affected by the outbreak, Washington has not raised any objections, for now, to the team’s access to the country. The “Leopards” team, as the Congolese team is popularly known, would thus return to a World Cup after 52 years, integrated into group K along with Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan.
Led by Frenchman Sébastien Desabre, the Congolese will debut against Portugal on June 17 at the NRG Stadium in Houston (USA). They will then play against Colombia on the 23rd of the same month at the Akron stadium in Zapopan (Mexico) and will close their group stage against Uzbekistan four days later at the Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta (USA).
The outbreak, which was declared last Friday and has already caused 139 deaths and 600 suspected cases in the DRC and Uganda, corresponds to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, whose fatality rate ranges between 30% and 50%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO declared this Sunday an international emergency in the face of this outbreak, although it considers the global risk of an epidemic “low.”
This is the 17th outbreak recorded in the DRC since the virus was first detected in 1976. The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with body fluids of infected people or animals and causes severe haemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding.