The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially initiated an appeal against the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee which dismissed its protest over the eligibility of several players fielded by the DR Congo national football team during their 2026 World Cup African playoff encounter against Nigeria.
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The controversial playoff match, played in Rabat, Morocco in November 2025, ended 4–3 on penalties in favour of DR Congo after a tense contest. The result eliminated Nigeria from the direct qualification route to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Shortly after the match, the NFF lodged a formal protest with FIFA, alleging irregularities in the passport issuance and eligibility status of some DR Congo players who were fielded in the match. According to the federation, some of the players many of whom possess dual nationality and play in European leagues may not have been eligible under DR Congo’s domestic citizenship laws.
Among the players linked to the controversy are Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe, whose eligibility has been debated in relation to the country’s laws on dual citizenship and FIFA regulations governing national team representation.
However, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee rejected Nigeria’s petition after reviewing the complaint.
Confirming the development on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, NFF General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said the federation had received FIFA’s decision but was dissatisfied with the outcome.
“We have received the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on our petition, but we are not satisfied with the decision, which rejected our petition. I want to assure Nigerians that the NFF has immediately commenced the process of appealing the decision,” Sanusi said.
Despite dismissing Nigeria’s petition, FIFA recently sanctioned both football federations for separate disciplinary breaches during the November playoff match. Nigeria was fined 1,000 Swiss francs for crowd misconduct involving objects thrown onto the pitch, while DR Congo was fined 5,000 Swiss francs after fans reportedly used laser pointers during the game.
Meanwhile, DR Congo has already been confirmed as Africa’s representative in the upcoming intercontinental playoffs for the final World Cup slots. The team has been drawn to face the winner of the match between Jamaica national football team and New Caledonia national football team.
The intercontinental playoff tournament will be staged in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, where six nations will compete for the final two spots at the 2026 World Cup.
In a development that has added intrigue to the dispute, recent squad announcements by DR Congo reportedly omitted at least three players earlier mentioned in Nigeria’s eligibility complaint. However, the move has not directly resolved the matter under FIFA regulations.
Nigeria’s hopes of reviving its World Cup qualification campaign now depend on the success of the appeal. If FIFA overturns the earlier decision, Nigeria could potentially replace DR Congo in the intercontinental playoff tournament.
As of now, FIFA has not announced a timeline for the resolution of the appeal, with the playoffs approaching rapidly.
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