By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday, March 17, said it is not satisfied with the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which rejected its petition against the Democratic Republic of Congo for allegedly fielding ineligible players in a 2026 FIFA World Cup play-off match against Nigeria in Rabat, Morocco, in November 2025.
In a statement on Tuesday, March 17, Mohammed Sanusi, NFF’s General Secretary, confirmed the receipt of FIFA’s verdict on its petition after months of waiting, adding that the federation has commenced the process of appealing FIFA’s decision.
Recall that Nigeria lost the match 4-3 on penalties to DR Congo as the country claimed Africa’s sole ticket for the playoffs for the World Cup.
However, in December 2025, the NFF protested the eligibility of some players fielded by the DR Congo team, alleging fraud in the issuance of passports that qualified a number of players of the DR Congo for the play-off despite their status contravening the country’s citizenship laws.
The statement read, “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.”
The NFF has 10 days to file its appeal of the decision before the FIFA Appeal. If the federation is still unsatisfied with the appeal committee’s decision, the case can be transferred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The interconfederational playoffs will take place between March 26 and 31, with the DR Congo team scheduled to play the winners of the Jamaica-New Caledonia match in the final of their bracket of the interconfederational playoffs.
The winners of the final game will secure one of the last tickets to the World Cup.
The Congolese are heading to Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico, where they will join five other countries vying for the final two places at the expanded World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
