The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has rejected a request from the United States to quarantine its national football team ahead of the World Cup tournament scheduled for June and July 2026.
The United States had requested that the team’s players, coaches, and staff undergo a 21‑day quarantine to ensure they do not interact with the public before the tournament, aiming to prevent the spread of the Ebola outbreak currently affecting eastern DRC.
US Warning and DRC Response
Andrew Giuliani, the head of the White House task force responsible for World Cup preparations, announced that if the DRC team does not go into quarantine, they could be barred from entering US territory. “We have been clear with the DRC government that they must remain in that quarantine or they will not be able to enter the United States.
We have made this sufficiently clear,” Giuliani stated. In response, the spokesperson for the DRC team stated that their scheduled plans will not be altered by the American request.
Instead, they are continuing preparations for upcoming friendly matches, including one against Denmark on June 3 and another against Chile on June 9, 2026. “Our training schedule remains unchanged. No player in our current squad has come directly from Congo,” the spokesperson added.
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Team’s Current Base and Preparations
The DRC national team is currently based at a training camp in Belgium. All players and head coach Sébastien Desabre had previously planned to travel to Kinshasa for a three‑day stay to attend a formal send‑off ceremony, but those plans were canceled due to the Ebola situation.
The entire squad has been based in Europe for an extended period, with the exception of a few team officials and staff members who arrived in Brussels from Kinshasa earlier this week.
World Cup Schedule
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The DRC team is scheduled to travel to the United States on June 11, where they will be based in the city of Houston. They will play their opening match against Portugal on June 17, followed by Colombia on June 23, before wrapping up the group stage against Azerbaijan.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co‑hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
