US to let DR Congo football team in for World Cup despite Ebola restrictions
The United States will allow the Democratic Republic of the Congo's football team to enter the country for the World Cup, despite an Ebola-related entry ban. A senior Department of State official confirmed that the team is expected to attend the tournament. However, this exemption does not extend to fans from the DRC wishing to support their team.
- ▪The US has banned non-Americans who have visited DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan in the last 21 days due to Ebola.
- ▪The DRC football team is the only one from the three countries to qualify for the World Cup.
- ▪The team has been training in Europe and may not have been subject to the entry ban.
- ▪Strict screening protocols will be applied if the team had been in the DRC recently.
- ▪The DRC will begin their World Cup campaign against Portugal on June 17.
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Sport|World Cup 2026US to let DR Congo football team in for World Cup despite Ebola restrictionsThe US has banned non-Americans who have visited DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days from entry.ListenListen (1 min)SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoThe 2026 World Cup is being cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico [Henry Romero/Reuters]By AFPPublished On 19 May 202619 May 2026The United States will ensure that the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) football team can enter the country to play in the World Cup, making an exemption to an Ebola-related entry ban, according to a senior Department of State official.“We expect the DRC team to be able to attend the World Cup,” the…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Al Jazeera English.
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