DR Congo Seek World Cup Ticket Refunds After Ebola Outbreak

The Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC) has requested that FIFA refunds supporters who purchased tickets for the 2026 World Cup but are currently unable to enter the United States due to travel restrictions connected to Ebola.

For the first time since 1974, the Leopards will play on the largest stage in football, but fans may not be able to travel to the US due to the public health emergency that the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed on May 16.

Since the outbreak was announced, officials report that there have been 223 suspected deaths and over 900 suspected cases of Ebola across Central and East Africa.

Majority of the cases and deaths have occurred in the D.R Congo and the US embassy in the capital city of Kinshasa has halted visa services.

The US has prohibited entrance for non-Americans who visited South Sudan, Uganda, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo within the last 21 days, even though the WHO has not recommended travel restrictions.

"We asked Fifa if this is possible to take this into consideration, because the tickets are little bit expensive," Veron Mosengo-Omba, the president of DR Congo's football federation (Fecofa), told BBC Sport Africa.

"They are punished because they cannot get [in to the US] to see the World Cup to support their team.

"We don't want our supporters who love football, who love the World Cup, to lose everything."

Due to FIFA's dynamic pricing model, tickets for the 2026 World Cup to be hosted in the US, Canada, and Mexico costs seven times much more for the 2022 edition held in Qatar.

The Leopards of DR Congo have been drawn in Group K TO face Portugal in their opener on June 17. This group also includes Columbia and Uzbekistan, intensifying the pressure on fans eager to witness the tournament.

Meanwhile, Fifa told the BBC that it "will look into it in due course" in response to Fecofa's request.