The Democratic Republic of Congo's national football team has been instructed to self-isolate for three weeks before entering the United States for the 2026 World Cup, due to an ongoing Ebola outbreak in the country.
The squad is currently training in Belgium after their planned camp in Kinshasa was called off. Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, stated that the players must remain in a strict 'bubble' throughout their stay in Belgium.
'They need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer,' Giuliani told ESPN.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has banned entry from non-Americans who have been in DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days. Since all DR Congo players are based abroad and the Kinshasa camp was scrapped, the team is not affected by the travel ban.
Giuliani warned that any breach of the bubble could jeopardize the entire team's participation. 'If they end up coming, and any of those people end up symptomatic, they are risking the entire team being able to come and compete in this World Cup.'
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the public health risk from the Ebola outbreak from 'high' to 'very high'. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the risk in the wider African region is 'high' but remains 'low' globally.
DR Congo is scheduled to play friendlies against Denmark on June 3 in Belgium and against Chile on June 9 in Spain. The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19, with DR Congo facing Portugal in their opening match on June 17.