FIFA Releases Statement As Nigeria, DR Congo Expect Ruling on 2026 World Cup Petition
- FIFA has released its 2025 CAS & Football Annual Report without mentioning Nigeria’s petition against DR Congo
- The NFF filed a petition to FIFA alleging DR Congo used ineligible players during their World Cup playoff
- The Super Eagles are still waiting on a ruling that could reopen their 2026 World Cup path
World football’s governing body, FIFA, has published its CAS & Football Annual Report 2025 at a time when Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo are anxiously awaiting a ruling on the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) petition over alleged use of ineligible players in the African play-offs for the 2026 World Cup.
In the report, FIFA made no reference to Nigeria’s protest, which was filed on December 15, 2025, following the Super Eagles’ dramatic penalty shootout defeat to DR Congo in Rabat last November.
Source: Getty Images
Nigeria lost the match 4-3 on penalties after extra time, a result that ended their hopes of progressing directly to the intercontinental play-offs.
The omission of the case from FIFA’s latest publication has sparked fresh debate, especially after expectations had risen that a decision could be announced around mid-February following a scheduled Ethics Committee meeting.
Reports suggested a conclusion may already have been reached internally, but only FIFA’s Executive Committee, chaired by Gianni Infantino, is authorised to make any formal announcement.
Nigeria’s protest centres on claims that DR Congo fielded several players who allegedly did not meet eligibility requirements under their country’s domestic laws.
Among the names referenced were Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe, both of whom previously represented England at youth level before switching international allegiance.
Source: Getty Images
According to BBC Sports, the NFF argues that the clearance process for these players contained irregularities and that DR Congo may have submitted incomplete documentation when seeking approval for their participation.
On this basis, Nigeria asked FIFA to disqualify DR Congo and reinstate the Super Eagles as Africa’s representatives in the Intercontinental Playoff tournament scheduled to take place in Mexico next month.
DR Congo, however, has consistently rejected Nigeria’s claims, maintaining that FIFA’s rules on sporting nationality, rather than domestic citizenship laws, govern player eligibility.
This legal grey area has helped turn the dispute into one of the most closely watched cases in African football.
Instead of addressing the Nigeria vs DR Congo dispute, FIFA’s newly released document focused on the broader role of football in global sports arbitration.
According to a statement published on FIFA’s official website, 77 per cent of all cases registered with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2025 involved football-related matters.
The report outlines how CAS continues to serve as the main independent body for reviewing appeals against FIFA decisions, in line with Article 49 of the FIFA Statutes.
It also provides summaries of key case law from both CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal, drawn from FIFA’s quarterly legal updates.
For Nigerian fans, however, the technical details offer little comfort. With no timeline given for a ruling and no mention of the petition in FIFA’s latest publication, uncertainty continues to dominate discussions around the Super Eagles’ World Cup fate.
FIFA has confirmed that the matter remains under review, but has not set a date for its final decision.
Should Nigeria’s appeal succeed, the Super Eagles could yet be reinstated into the qualification race and handed a dramatic lifeline in their quest to return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 2018.
NFF responds to FIFA verdict reports
In a related development, Legit.ng reported that the NFF has dismissed reports claiming that FIFA has already delivered a verdict on Nigeria’s protest against the Democratic Republic of the Congo over alleged ineligible players.
The federation says no official decision has been communicated and has urged fans to ignore what it describes as fake and misleading information circulating online.
Source: Legit.ng
