The case of goalkeeper Lionel Mbasi, a player for the Democratic Republic of the Congo national team, raised serious questions about the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)’s commitment to its regulations regarding the eligibility of players, after press investigations revealed that the goalkeeper played four matches in the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, despite not meeting the legal conditions for participation, before his situation was settled without imposing sanctions on the player or the Congolese Federation.
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, which published an investigation in cooperation with the New York Times on October 6, and followed it with a new article on October 8, the case goes beyond the individual violation to the method of making decisions within FIFA, especially since its jurists had identified the violation and its potential effects, while the procedures ended without punishing the team that benefited from the player’s participation.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo national team had surpassed Nigeria in the African playoff final on November 16, 2025, to get the opportunity to play in the global playoff against Jamaica on March 31, 2026, where its qualification to the World Cup was decided.
Confronting Nigeria became the focus of the issue. Considering that the Congolese team lost due to the participation of an ineligible player would have changed the identity of the team qualifying for the global playoff, and given Nigeria the opportunity to compete for a World Cup ticket.
The documents reveal that the legal problem began years earlier, after Mbassi represented the French national teams in at least five matches, including participation in the U-17 World Cup in 2011. Despite having dual French and Congolese citizenship, he had to complete the procedures for changing his sports federation before representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Congolese Federation began these procedures in 2021, but they were not officially completed. However, the goalkeeper participated with the first team starting in February 2022. FIFA legal experts did not discover that the procedures had not been completed until after an in-depth review of the file on March 9 and 10, 2026, that is, about three weeks before the Jamaica match.
The Nigerian Federation had filed a complaint on November 28, 2025, raising suspicions regarding the eligibility of a number of Congolese players, including issues of nationality and passports, without specifically mentioning Mbasi. After subsequent correspondence, FIFA rejected the complaint for formal reasons related to dates and procedures, stressing that the decision had become final due to the failure to submit an appeal that met the conditions.
However, Article 19 of the International Federation’s Disciplinary Regulations gives the competent judicial authorities the power to act on their own when it discovers the participation of an ineligible player, even in the absence of an official complaint. The rules stipulate that the team may be considered a loser and a fine of no less than six thousand Swiss francs may be imposed, in addition to the penalties that may affect the player.
FIFA legal experts recommended opening disciplinary procedures against the goalkeeper and the Congolese Federation, suspending Mbassi for six months, and fining the local federation, while offering two options regarding the team’s results: either consider it a loser in the match in question, or deduct six points from its score in the 2030 World Cup qualifiers.
The recommendations also included urgently referring the file to the competent authorities, and determining the identity of the team that has the right to face Jamaica, whether by granting Nigeria a global playoff card or confirming the continuation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo if it was decided to apply an alternative punishment.
Nigeria was not the only party that could be affected by reconsidering the results; The internal legal analysis concluded that recalculating the results of the disqualified goalkeeper’s matches would have changed the standings of the African qualifiers, which might have given Burkina Faso, instead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the opportunity to participate in the African playoff.
The jurists relied on clear disciplinary precedents, including punishing South Africa after losing to Lesotho in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers due to the inclusion of Teboho Mokoena, who was not qualified. These precedents showed that penalties related to players’ eligibility were not an exceptional measure.
However, no announced penalty was issued against Mbasi or the Congolese Federation, and the results of previous matches were not modified. In a later response, FIFA confirmed that the goalkeeper’s participation did not raise any eligibility problem during the match against Jamaica or the 2026 World Cup finals, which the newspaper considered an indication that his status would be settled before the global playoff.
This response raises a question about the legal basis on which the International Federation relied to correct the player’s situation without arranging disciplinary consequences for his previous participations. FIFA did not provide the newspaper with a specific explanation of the nature of the settlement procedures or the reasons for not informing the federations that may have been affected by the violation.
The case extended to administrative and political levels within the International Federation, after investigations revealed the possibility of its president, Gianni Infantino, and its secretary-general, Matthias Grafström, being informed of the details of the file. FIFA categorically denied that its president had interfered in the disciplinary procedures, stressing the independence of the competent judicial authorities.
The case coincided with the rise of Veron Mosengo Omba to the presidency of the Congolese Football Federation in May 2026. He is a former official in the African Confederation who has had a long relationship with Infantino since they studied law at the Swiss University of Fribourg.
Mosengo Omba previously worked in the European Football Confederation and participated in Infantino’s election campaign in 2016, before assuming positions in FIFA and then the General Secretariat of the African Union. His election as president of the Congolese Federation, after the exclusion or withdrawal of eight competitors, raised questions about the nature of the support he received.
The investigation covered correspondence in which Infantino expressed his personal support for the new president of the Congolese Federation, while FIFA denied accusations of political interference to arrange his election. The relationship between the officials does not, in itself, constitute evidence that it was a reason for the decision regarding Mbasi's eligibility.
The case brought back to the forefront the controversy raised by the incident of American striker Folarin Balogun during the 2026 World Cup, after his suspension was reduced following the intervention of US President Donald Trump with Infantino, according to what was reported by the investigation, in an incident that in turn raised questions about the independence of disciplinary decisions.
These developments come before the FIFA presidential elections scheduled for March 2027, amid growing interest in the positions of the African federations, which represent 54 out of 211 member federations of the international organization.
On the other hand, the Nigerian side did not close the file permanently; According to information reported by ESPN, the Nigerian Federation is considering its legal options, including demanding financial compensation from FIFA for damages associated with absence from the World Cup.
The case remains open to questions related to the extent to which disciplinary decisions are consistent with regulations and legal precedents, especially since correcting a player’s eligibility for subsequent matches does not alone explain how his previous participations were treated, nor does it resolve the rights of teams that may have been affected by their results.
Alex Colvin, director of women's football at the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro), said that the steps taken by Chelsea and the Spanish Football Federation to offer egg freezing services to female players are "incredibly progressive," but she noted that having safeguards is crucial so that women do not feel pressured to postpone motherhood.
In August, Chelsea became the first club in the English Women's Premier League to fund egg freezing and other fertility treatments for female players, while last month the Spanish Football Federation announced an agreement allowing eligible female national team players to receive treatments including egg freezing and artificial insemination.
Colvin added: “If we put the matter objectively, the ability of clubs to provide this service to female players is an incredibly progressive step.”
Although some players welcomed these initiatives, they also raised concerns that employer funding for fertility treatments would make the option of postponing pregnancy an expectation.
Spanish Olympic triple jumper Ana Beletero-Compaoré was among those who expressed concern.
She said in a video clip on Instagram: “It is clear that the problem is not freezing eggs. The problem is: Why would the institution these women work for be interested in funding them to postpone motherhood? And here lies the problem that, for me, changes everything completely.”
Colvin said expanding reproductive freedom of choice represents an important step forward, provided that the decision remains in the hands of female players.
She continued: “Like any policy, the difficulty lies in the details. But what I would say is that if we start with the player's choice, that's crucial. (Because) every player will have a different perception.”
Alexia Potias, a Spanish and London City midfielder, welcomed the possibility of postponing pregnancy until after the end of her football career, saying that female athletes “are serving their country in the face of their biological clock, and they cannot suddenly stop to become mothers, because they need their bodies to do their work.”
The Spanish Football Federation said its agreement with the Tamperi Fertility Clinic in Madrid aims to give women greater freedom to make decisions related to motherhood.
Colvin noted that the circumstances of female players vary greatly, making education and individual choice crucial.
She said: “Education is really important, and enabling female players to understand that it is an individual choice.”
She added that this choice must be supported by guarantees that allow female players to express their concerns if they feel pressure.
The Chelsea Initiative also funds other fertility-related services, including IVF and gynecological care.
Colvin stressed that such initiatives must be coupled with the protection of maternity rights that allow female players to have children during their careers.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) policy for 2024 guarantees female players and coaches access to paid maternity leave for a period of at least 14 weeks, with the addition of protection measures that include adoption, family leave, menstrual health, and the return of female players after pregnancy.
“Having a policy in place is important, but having maternity protection measures in place, as well as the necessary safeguards to ensure players feel safe when making an individual decision about whether or not to freeze eggs, is equally important,” Colvin said.
She added that the key is to ensure that women have the information and protection needed to make decisions about their careers and families without “obligation or pressure.”
