A public send-off in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital was also canceled ahead of departure for the FIFA World Cup.
Published May 21, 2026
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) soccer team has canceled a three-day World Cup preparation training camp and public farewell party for fans scheduled for the capital Kinshasa due to an Ebola outbreak in the country’s east.
DRC is scheduled to play World Cup warm-up matches against Denmark on June 3 in Liege, Belgium, and against Chile on June 9 in southern Spain. Both games will be played as scheduled, team spokesman Jerry Calemo told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
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“There were three stages of preparation: in Kinshasa we said goodbye to Belgium and Spain and the public, then in Liège we played Denmark, two friendlies against Chile and Spain, and then the third stage, which started on June 11 in Houston, USA. Only one stage was canceled, the stage in Kinshasa,” Kalemo said.
Teams’ pre-tournament preparations will now take place elsewhere after an outbreak of a rare form of Ebola known as Bundibugyo has left more than 130 people dead and nearly 600 suspected cases.
The World Health Organization has declared this a public health emergency of international concern.
All DRC players and the team’s French coach, Sébastien Desabres, are based outside the Central African Republic, with most playing in France.
Kalemo said many team staff based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo “will be leaving within the next few hours.”
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, said in a statement that it is “aware of and monitoring the situation regarding the Ebola outbreak and is in close contact with the DRC Football Association to ensure teams are informed of all medical and safety guidance.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that all foreign nationals who have been to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past three weeks will be barred from entering the country. The ban will last for 30 days.
U.S. officials said Congo’s World Cup team is not affected by the CDC’s entry ban because it has been training in Europe for the past several weeks. Team members, coaches and other personnel who have not returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo within the past three weeks will not be subject to the entry ban, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the policy has not been made public.
Members of the Congo World Cup delegation who return to the Democratic Republic of Congo within the past 21 days will be subject to the same quarantine requirements as U.S. citizens who wish to return from affected countries, the official said. The exception does not apply to Congolese fans wishing to participate in the World Cup, the official said.
The White House World Cup Task Force, under the Department of Homeland Security, said it was “working closely” with various agencies on health and safety issues and that the government was “closely monitoring” the outbreak.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, which qualified for the World Cup by winning the playoff tournament in Mexico, was drawn in Group K and will face Portugal in the opening game on June 17 in Houston.
The Leopards will then face Colombia in Guadalajara on June 23, before playing Uzbekistan in Atlanta in their final group game on June 27.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s first World Cup qualification since 1974, when it was known as Zaire, brought scenes of jubilation across a country devastated by decades of conflict.
