FIFA quietly decided in March that DR Congo had fielded a player who did not meet its eligibility rules during 2026 World Cup qualifying, and still chose to leave the results standing, according to internal FIFA documents reviewed by Le Monde and the New York Times and reported on Tuesday.

The player at the centre of the case is goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who holds French and Congolese nationality and represented France at youth level. The paperwork required to formally switch his national association, started in 2021, had never been completed, FIFA’s legal team found, even though he had been playing for DR Congo throughout the qualifying cycle.

Nigeria’s complaint ruled inadmissible

The case grew out of a defeat Nigeria has never let go of. The African play-off final in Rabat finished 1-1 after extra time and DR Congo won 4-3 on penalties in November 2025, with Mpasi in goal. Nigeria’s football federation then formally protested the eligibility of several Congolese players, arguing that the procedures for changing sporting nationality had not been fully respected.

That initial complaint was rejected. When Nigeria kept pressing, FIFA’s lawyers reopened the file in March 2026 and confirmed the paperwork gap on Mpasi. Options discussed inside the governing body reportedly ran from a fine to removing DR Congo from the inter-confederation play-off against Jamaica. None was imposed. FIFA ruled Nigeria’s claim “inadmissible”, on the basis that its disciplinary committee’s earlier decision had already become final because no appeal had been lodged through the correct procedures.

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Le Monde described the case as a “delicate matter that FIFA covered up for political reasons”.

DR Congo kept their place in North America

With no sanction and no reversal, DR Congo beat Jamaica in the inter-confederation play-off and reached the finals for the first time in 52 years. Mpasi remained first choice between the posts in North America, and started the 2-1 round-of-32 defeat to England that ended the Léopards’ tournament.

The most familiar name in that squad to Premier League viewers is Yoane Wissa, who joined Newcastle United from Brentford on transfer deadline day in September 2025 and wears the number 9 shirt at St James’ Park. His own international status has not been questioned in the Mpasi file.

The reporting on the FIFA documents, published Tuesday by Le Monde and the New York Times, is the first time the governing body’s internal conclusions on the case have appeared in public, more than two months after DR Congo’s elimination.

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