The 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to kick off across North America next month, has hit an unprecedented public health barrier for one African participant, as the Democratic Republic of Congo’s national squad faces strict new entry rules from U.S. health authorities tied to a worsening Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.
Amid the escalating risk, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regulations currently bar entry to the United States for any non-U.S. citizen who has traveled to DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the 21-day period before their planned arrival. To comply with these rules, DR Congo was forced to scrap its planned pre-tournament training camp in its capital Kinshasa, and the team has instead relocated its preparation to temporary training facilities in Belgium.
Despite the location shift, White House World Cup Task Force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani emphasized that strict protocols remain non-negotiable for the squad to earn entry. The entire roster must remain in a locked health bubble within Belgium for the full 21-day waiting period before traveling to the U.S. for the tournament, Giuliani told ESPN. “They need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer,” he said.
All of DR Congo’s senior squad players are currently based at club teams outside of the country, meaning they are not directly exposed to the outbreak and will not fall afoul of the existing travel restrictions so long as they avoid exposure during the pre-tournament period. Giuliani added that any additional support staff or personnel joining the squad from affected regions must be separated into an entirely separate isolation bubble to avoid putting the entire team’s participation at risk.
“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,” he explained.
The heightened protocols come just weeks after the World Health Organization upgraded the public health risk of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in DR Congo from “high” to “very high” earlier this month. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that while the regional risk across Central Africa remains classified as high, the global risk level still sits at low, limiting the need for widespread international travel restrictions outside the immediate affected zone.
In addition to their pre-tournament isolation in Belgium, DR Congo is scheduled to play two warm-up friendlies ahead of the World Cup: a June 3 matchup against Denmark in Belgium, followed by a June 9 clash with Chile in Spain. The African side will kick off their World Cup Group K campaign on June 17 against reigning champion Portugal, with additional group stage matches against Colombia and Uzbekistan to follow. The 48-team tournament will run from June 11 to July 19 across host cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.