The International Federation of Association Football knew that the Democratic Republic of Congo fielded an ineligible player against Nigeria but allowed the team to continue its World Cup qualification campaign, an investigation by The New York Times and The Athletic has revealed.
According to the report published Tuesday, FIFA’s own legal officials had privately determined that Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi had breached player eligibility rules after he failed to complete the required documentation to switch his international affiliation from France, where he had represented youth teams.
Mpasi, who plays for Le Havre in Ligue 1, was born in Meaux, France and played 12 matches for French youth teams in 2010 and 2011. He made his debut for DR Congo in 2022, but the investigation found that DR Congo never completed the formal change of association request and never received written approval from FIFA.
Nigeria had filed a petition with FIFA after losing 4-3 on penalties to Congo in the African playoff final in November 2025, alleging that Congo fielded players who did not meet eligibility requirements.
Internal documents reviewed by the Times showed FIFA identified four possible courses of action: awarding the match to Nigeria, imposing fines on DR Congo, replacing DR Congo with Nigeria in the playoff against Jamaica, or dismissing the case entirely on the basis that Nigeria had filed its complaint too late.
FIFA chose the fourth option and closed the case on a technicality, despite having sufficient time to address the legal issues before the next round. The report noted that FIFA did not deny that its legal department had found Mpasi ineligible.
Congo went on to defeat Jamaica in March to qualify for its first World Cup in 52 years and reached the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup, where they were eliminated 2-1 by England. Mpasi featured in that match.
FIFA said in a statement that it strongly rejects allegations of influence and that committees are autonomous and decide cases based on applicable regulations.
In previous similar cases, FIFA had been tougher, awarding 3-0 defeats to Greece in 2016 and Bolivia in 2018 for fielding ineligible players.
