"We don't want our supporters who love football, who love the World Cup, to lose everything." That quote from DR Congo federation president Veron Mosengo-Omba says more than any press statement could — because for many Congolese fans, losing everything is exactly what's on the table.
With the World Cup 16 days away, the U.S. has suspended visa services at its embassy in Kinshasa and closed its borders to non-Americans who have been in DR Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda within the previous 21 days. The trigger: an Ebola outbreak that has produced over 900 suspected cases and 223 projected fatalities across central and East Africa, the overwhelming majority in DR Congo.
Mosengo-Omba has formally asked FIFA to consider reimbursing affected supporters. FIFA's response? It "will look into it in due course." Cold comfort for fans who bought tickets to a tournament 52 years in the making.
Tickets that cost a year's wages
This isn't an abstract financial inconvenience. World Cup 2026 tickets are the most expensive in the tournament's history — some priced at seven times what fans paid for Qatar 2022. FIFA's own official resale platform launched with listings exceeding $1 million. Several DR Congo residents have stretched their finances to attend, banking on a historic moment for their country's football.
That moment still exists on the pitch. It doesn't exist in the stands if you can't get through the door.
DR Congo open Group K against Portugal in Houston on June 11, then face Colombia in Zapopan, Mexico — which, notably, sits south of the U.S. border and may offer an alternative route for some fans. Their final group game is against Uzbekistan. It's a genuinely difficult group, and Portugal will be heavy favourites, but DR Congo qualified on merit and deserve to be there.
The team itself is caught in the chaos
The travel restrictions haven't just hit supporters. Team officials based in Kinshasa have already left the country and are serving a mandatory 21-day quarantine. DR Congo were forced to cancel their pre-tournament training camp entirely, relocating to Belgium instead, where the squad — most of whom play their club football in Europe — will prepare in a controlled bubble ahead of a friendly against Denmark on June 3, followed by a match against Chile in Spain on June 9.
Andrew Giuliani, the White House Task Force director for the World Cup, was blunt about the conditions: "We've made it very clear to the Congo government that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States."
So the players face a different kind of pressure heading into the opener — not just the weight of a 52-year absence, but the knowledge that one bubble breach could end their World Cup before it starts. And their fans? They're waiting on FIFA to decide whether their money is worth protecting.
