The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has lodged a formal protest with FIFA, alleging that DR Congo fielded up to nine ineligible dual-nationality players in their November 2025 World Cup playoff final—won 4-3 on penalties by Congo, eliminating the Super Eagles.

While the complaint raises valid points about DR Congo’s domestic constitution prohibiting dual citizenship, experts and precedents suggest it has little chance of success under FIFA’s international eligibility framework.

NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi argued that the players—mostly born in Europe and holding foreign passports—failed to properly renounce prior citizenships under Congolese law, claiming FIFA was “deceived” into granting clearances. “The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual nationality,” Sanusi said, noting that some players acquired Congolese passports in “just three months.”

FIFA’s Eligibility Framework

Under Articles 5–9 of FIFA’s Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes, eligibility hinges on possession of a valid national passport at the time of selection. FIFA does not enforce internal constitutional restrictions on dual citizenship. As long as players held legitimate Congolese passports—and all contested ones did, with FIFA pre-clearing them—this satisfies global standards.

Sanusi himself acknowledged the disconnect: “FIFA regulations say once you have the passport… you are eligible.” The complaint therefore hinges on alleged fraud in passport issuance, but FIFA relies on documentation submitted by member associations rather than conducting independent probes into domestic compliance.

Precedents Strongly Favor FIFA’s Approach

• Similar protests against Morocco (many French-passport holders despite constitutional bans) and Algeria have routinely failed.
• Complaints during the 2022–2023 African qualifiers over dual nationals were dismissed on identical grounds.
• The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) consistently upholds FIFA’s passport-focused rule, stressing uniformity across 211 member associations—many of which constitutionally prohibit dual citizenship yet field diaspora players.

Implications

If Nigeria’s complaint were upheld, they could reclaim the intercontinental playoff spot (Congo vs. New Caledonia/Jamaica winner). However, without evidence of deliberate deception at the FIFA level (e.g., forged documents), retrospective sanctions are rare. Most observers predict FIFA will reaffirm Congo’s clearance, effectively closing Nigeria’s 2026 hopes barring extraordinary findings.

Cameroon has filed a parallel complaint, but faces the same hurdles. FIFA’s investigation is underway, with a decision expected before the March playoffs.