Democratic Republic of the Congo they asked FIFA for a refund World Cup tickets purchased by fans unable to travel to the United States due to Ebola-related restrictions.
The Leopards are preparing for their first World Cup appearance since 1974, but the ongoing health crisis in Central and East Africa has complicated travel plans for thousands of fans hoping to support the team in North America.
The World Health Organization expressed concern earlier this month after more than 900 suspected Ebola cases and 223 deaths were reported across the region, with most cases linked to DR Congo.
Because of this, the United States has suspended entry to non-Americans who have been to the DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days.
Fecofa complained to FIFA
Veron Mosengo-Omba, the president of DR Congo’s football association, confirmed that talks are already open with FIFA about possible refunds to affected fans.
“We have asked Fifa if it is possible to take this into account, because the tickets are a bit expensive,” Mosengo-Omba told BBC Sport Africa.
“They’re being punished because they can’t come (to the U.S.) to see the World Cup to cheer on their team.”
“We don’t want our fans who love football, who love the World Cup, to lose everything,” he added.
FIFA reportedly responded by saying it would “look into it in due course”.
The governing body’s current ticketing policy generally allows tickets to be resold or transferred, with refunds usually reserved for exceptional situations such as canceled matches.
The team is not affected by the restrictions
Despite the travel restrictions affecting fans, the DR Congo team is not expected to have any problems entering the United States.
Most of the players and coaching staff are in Europe, while officials traveling from DR Congo have already left the country earlier to meet quarantine requirements.
The team also canceled a planned training camp in Kinshasa and instead moved preparations to Belgium before traveling to Texas for the tournament.
DR Congo open their World Cup campaign against Portugal on June 17 in Houston before facing Colombia and Uzbekistan in Group K.
