DR Congo players celebrate qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026 during the FIFA World Cup 2026 play-off tournament match between DR Congo and Jamaica, held at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, March 31, 2026. (Photo: CFP)

The Democratic Republic of Congo's national football team has cancelled a planned pre-World Cup training camp in Kinshasa following the country's latest Ebola outbreak, according to a team official.

The outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever was declared last Friday in eastern DR Congo and is already suspected to have caused 139 deaths from about 600 probable cases, according to health authorities.

Officials say the three-day training camp originally planned for Kinshasa has been moved to Belgium. Although they did not directly link the decision to the Ebola outbreak, team officials confirmed that no locally based players were selected for the national squad.

DR Congo have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for only the second time in their history, with their previous appearance coming in 1974 when the country competed as Zaire. The tournament will be hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Congolese side plans to base itself in Houston during the competition, where it is set to open its Group K campaign against Portugal on June 17. The team will then travel to Guadalajara to face Colombia on June 24 before returning to the United States for a final group-stage match against Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 28.

Concerns had emerged over whether the Ebola outbreak could affect the team's travel plans, especially after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) imposed restrictions on non-Americans who have recently been in DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan due to the outbreak.

However, a US official said on Tuesday that the Congolese team would still be able to participate in the tournament. The official noted that the squad had already been training in Europe and therefore may not fall under the travel restrictions. Even if players had recently been in DR Congo, they would face enhanced health screening measures rather than a complete travel ban.

Source(s): AFP