{"id":16573,"date":"2026-05-21T09:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/16573\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T09:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:46:09","slug":"dr-congo-move-world-cup-camp-to-belgium-amid-ebola-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/16573\/","title":{"rendered":"DR Congo Move World Cup Camp to Belgium Amid Ebola Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rabat \u2013 The DR Congo national team has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c8d80856q2go\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">cancelled<\/a> its pre\u2011World Cup training camp in Kinshasa due to the Ebola outbreak in the country, shifting preparations to Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a \u201cpublic health emergency of international concern,\u201d with more than 600 cases and 139 suspected deaths reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The situation prompted the Congolese federation to act quickly to ensure the squad\u2019s safety ahead of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Team spokesperson Jerry Kalemo confirmed the decision, saying the camp will now take place in Belgium.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The team is scheduled to face Denmark on June 3 and Spain on June 9 in warm\u2011up matches before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>DR Congo will compete in Group K, alongside Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan. Their opening match is against Portugal on June 17 in Houston, followed by Colombia in Guadalajara on June 23, and Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 27.<\/p>\n<p>FIFA and US measures<\/p>\n<p>FIFA said it is monitoring the situation closely and remains in contact with the Congolese federation to provide medical and security guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The governing body stressed that \u201cthe health of all individuals involved remains FIFA\u2019s priority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the US government has introduced emergency restrictions, barring entry for anyone who has visited DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The rule will last for 30 days, with exemptions for official delegations participating in the World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>DR Congo named their 26\u2011man squad earlier this week, with all players based abroad. Premier League representatives include Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley), Noah Sadiki (Sunderland), Aaron Wan\u2011Bissaka (West Ham), and Yoan Wissa (Newcastle).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kalemo confirmed that none of the players have returned to the country during the outbreak.<\/p>\n<p>DR Congo qualified for the World Cup in March by defeating Jamaica in a playoff. The relocation of their camp shows the challenges posed by health emergencies, but the team remains focused on preparations for its first World Cup appearance since 1974.<\/p>\n<p>Read also: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2026\/05\/303907\/pamoja-afcon-2027-uganda-ebola-outbreak-concerns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ebola Outbreak Raises Concerns Ahead of Pamoja AFCON 2027<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rabat \u2013 The DR Congo national team has cancelled its pre\u2011World Cup training camp in Kinshasa due to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,4872,10813,10794,10814],"class_list":["post-16573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-belgium","tag-belgium","tag-dr-congo","tag-dr-congo-football","tag-ebola","tag-fifa-world-cup-2030"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116611932980294524","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}