Spain’s mayor bans matches at La Línea de la Concepción ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, citing Ebola concerns.
Published June 2, 2026
A pre-World Cup friendly against the Democratic Republic of the Congo was called off by the mayor of the Spanish town hosting the soccer match, citing health concerns over the Ebola outbreak in the African country.
Juan Franco, the mayor of La Linea de la Concepción in southern Spain, said: “We have signed a decree banning the June 9 match between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chile.”
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Franco said this was a “precautionary measure” and in accordance with the recommendations of the health department of the Andalusian regional government.
The mayor of La Linea, a city of 65,000 people near the border with Gibraltar, added that the city’s medical director had also recommended against holding the match.
“The report of the Director of Health Services of the Mayor of La Línea has categorically recommended that the match not be held due to the possible health risks,” he said.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, making their first World Cup appearance since playing for Zaire in 1974, are scheduled to play a friendly against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, on Wednesday.
The team canceled its scheduled pre-World Cup training camp in the country after an Ebola outbreak broke out in the country last month, with players based in Belgium instead. The Confederation of African Football said the team complied with the protocols set by the World Cup host country.
An outbreak of highly contagious hemorrhagic fever was declared in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in mid-May.
U.S. officials announced on May 22 that the Congolese national team will need to quarantine for 21 days before being allowed to enter the United States for the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
DR Congo’s players will be based in Houston, Texas, USA during the tournament and will face Portugal in their first Group K match on June 17th.
The Democratic Republic of Congo will then travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, to play Colombia on June 24th, before returning to the United States to face Uzbekistan on June 28th in Atlanta, Georgia.
