The United States, co-hosting the World Cup, has warned the Democratic Republic of Congo’s team to quarantine over Ebola concerns.
Published May 23, 2026
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has no plans to change its preparations for the 2026 World Cup, despite a warning from the United States that the team must quarantine for 21 days before entering the country, team officials said.
White House World Cup Task Force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani acknowledged Friday that the Congolese delegation must remain in a training bubble in Belgium and quarantine for 21 days or risk being denied entry due to the central African country’s deadly Ebola outbreak.
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The Congolese team will be based in Houston for the tournament and will play their Group K opener against Portugal on June 17th, followed by Colombia in Guadalajara, Mexico on June 23rd and Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 27th.
“We’ve been very clear with Congo that they should maintain bubble integrity for 21 days before coming to Houston on June 11,” Giuliani told ESPN on Saturday.
“We have also been very clear with the Congolese government that they need to maintain a bubble or risk not being able to travel to the United States. We couldn’t be more clear.”
However, a team spokesperson said the schedule remains unchanged at this stage and includes a friendly against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, on June 3 and a friendly against Chile in Cadiz, Spain, six days later.
“We are continuing our training program. There are no players from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the team,” the source said.
The entire squad, including coach Sebastian Desabres, are based outside the DRC, mostly in Europe. Several team officials arrived at a training camp in Belgium from the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this week.
The team had planned a three-day trip to Kinshasa next week as a celebratory send-off before heading to their first World Cup in 52 years, but that trip has been cancelled.
The World Health Organization on Friday said the risk of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola developing into a nationwide outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is “very high” and declared the outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Uganda an emergency of international concern.
Nearly 750 suspected cases and nearly 177 deaths have been recorded following the outbreak in the DRC.
