October 7: The ability of FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino to protect the sporting integrity of its biggest competitions has again been called into question following the World Cup eligibility scandal surrounding DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi.
Mapsi took part in the World Cup last summer and helped Congo reach the last 16, where they lost to England in a game where Mpasi featured prominently. According to reports, FIFA lawyers learned in March, three months before the start of the World Cup, that Mpasi was ineligible to play for Congo.
FIFA had actually known that Congo was fielding ineligible players in World Cup qualifiers since December 2025 when Nigeria lodged an official complaint with FIFA alleging that Congo used between six and nine ineligible players in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
In African qualifying, Congo beat Nigeria 4-3 on penalties to book their place in the 2026 intercontinental play-offs. In the play-off, Congo beat Jamaica.
See: Nigeria seek 2026 World Cup lifeline with Congo ineligibility complaint
Cameroon has also previously lodged a complaint with FIFA about ineligible Congolese players, arguing that European-born players had not been properly authorized to change their nationality.
In the World Cup the Congolese team was filled with players from Europe.
Infantino’s critics argue that turning a blind eye to the ineligible Congolese player shows a clear pattern of Infantino’s consistent willingness to overlook FIFA rules and the competitive integrity of FIFA competitions in favor of helping “friends and allies”.
The most obvious example during the World Cup was Balogun’s red card, which was overturned after a phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Infantino.
It is undeniable that FIFA knew and overlooked the ineligibility of the Congolese goalkeeper. FIFA has denied that the reason for overlooking eligibility has anything to do with backing Congo’s new president, Veron Mosengo-Omba.
A long-term ally and associate of Infantino who followed him from UEFA to FIFA, Mosengo-Omba was one of Infantino’s loyal stormtroopers in bringing African federations to heel, later becoming secretary-general.
Mosengo-Omba was then out of office, but an agreement was reached with Congo’s sports ministry to insert him into the presidency of the national federation. FIFA said it “strongly rejects these unfounded allegations” about Mpasi’s eligibility, adding that Infantino had no role in any decision.
Still, with Infantino’s increasingly public track record thus far, and with new scandals surrounding his presidency almost daily, the legal principle of “the appearance of partiality” is impossible to dismiss when looking at the Congo case.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has yet to comment on the case, although Nigeria, one of its senior and most prominent members, was affected by the decision.
Concacaf, whose member association Jamaica was also affected, stressed the importance of player eligibility and the consistent and fair application of regulations.
“Concacaf takes player eligibility issues very seriously and expects the applicable regulations and procedures to be applied consistently and fairly across all competitions. Any concerns about player eligibility, particularly those that may affect the integrity of a competition or the interests of one of our member associations, should be thoroughly reviewed and addressed through the appropriate governance and FIFA disciplinary bodies, in accordance with the of FIFA’s proper governance and disciplinary,” Concaf said.
Ask for compensation
That Congo appear to have been given a significant competitive advantage is ironic given that Nigeria has been a staunch and reliable supporter of Infantino since before his election and at every step of his African conquest.
An official from Nigeria’s National Sports Commission told ESPN that it may seek damages from FIFA. “Nothing has been decided yet, but we will seriously look into seeking compensation from FIFA for all the financial losses this has caused Nigeria,” an NSC official said.
“The revenue that the Super Eagles and the NFF would have received from participating in the World Cup, the exposure that the players would have had, the transfers, the sponsorship fees, even the boost to the Nigerian economy.
“We are exploring all our options as a country and nothing is off the table.”
Jamaica were a game closer to the final than Nigeria and have even more reason to feel aggrieved at missing out on a World Cup final hosted in their confederation.
What is even bigger for the Jamaicans and their president Michael Ricketts will be the realization that within this FIFA, decisions that give other nations a competitive advantage over them reinforce the perception that they are second-class citizens.
That realization will not be dampened by the events of two weeks ago, when Ricketts rolled out the red carpet for Infantino in Jamaica for the opening of his Nations League campaign as Infantino began his election campaign. Ricketts also facilitated other Caribbean FA presidents to come to the match and receive Infantino’s pitch.
Ricketts effusively supported Infantino, but has now been reduced to the Jamaican Caribbean equivalent of the village idiot (the Jamaican word is Cunumunu) for Infantino’s leadership of the Congo case.
Ricketts has stood by Infantino’s promises of more subsidies at any price for future generations of football. Jamaica would have earned a minimum of $14.5 million (without FIFA Forward conditions) from the World Cup if they had qualified through a fair and transparent application of the competition’s rules.
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