Congo’s soccer team will make World Cup history in Houston. Ebola could upend fans’ plans

From Houston Public Media:

It wasn’t until 99 minutes into the Democratic Republic of Congo’s soccer match against Jamaica in March that the African team scored its first and only goal of the game. But that goal qualified them for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

To hear him tell it, it only took a minute for Tshiunza Kalubi to buy tickets to Congo’s World Cup debut in Houston on June 17.

“The minute — and I’m not even kidding you, the minute — that they qualified, my wife and I went online and secured tickets,” Kalubi, a Congolese Houston resident, told Houston Public Media. “For a lot of people, just seeing that Congolese flag and knowing that it’s going to be represented on the world’s biggest stage, I have never experienced anything like this.”

For Kalubi, and many other fans of Congo’s national soccer team, this was a moment to be witnessed in the nation’s sports history. In its current entity, the country has never before qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

“It means everything,” Marcus Mpwo, a Houstonian born and raised in Congo, told Houston Public Media. “Me seeing them live here at home will probably never happen again in my whole lifetime. Maybe not even in my kid’s lifetime. It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

That dream, though, may be upended for many fans. An outbreak of Ebola in Congo — with more than 1,000 suspected cases and 250 suspected deaths — has resulted in travel restrictions by the U.S. government. On May 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) temporarily suspended travel for non-U.S.-citizens coming from Congo and other countries affected by the epidemic.

The team itself has been cleared to enter the United States, according to Congo’s ambassador. But those restrictions, which are in place for 30 days, mean Congolese soccer fans may not be able to come to the match in Houston on June 17.

“We’ve got our happiest moment in the World Cup,” Kalubi said. “And unfortunately, it’s going to be counterbalanced by this outbreak of Ebola.”

A nation of many names

“During the 20^th century,” the soccer team’s website reads, in the nation’s official language of French, “the country had several names.”

For much of the 1900s, Congo had been colonized by Belgium, before gaining independence in 1960. At one point it was the Republic of Congo; then, it was the Democratic Republic of Congo; in 1971 it became the Republic of Zaire. Finally, in 1997, the nation returned to its name today, the Democratic Republic of Congo. That’s not to be confused with its neighbor to the west, the Republic of Congo.

Since the ‘90s, several conflicts have shaped the country and brought it to international attention. Last year, Congo and Rwanda entered a peace agreement, mediated by the United States. In December, Congo and the U.S. entered a “strategic partnership“; last month, 15 people were deported by the U.S. government into the DRC.

In 1974, Congo became the center of the world of sports for one night. In a major upset, Muhammad Ali defeated the then-undefeated and undisputed heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman in Kinshasa. That match, billed as “The Rumble in the Jungle,” was one of the most-watched live broadcasts in history and has been called one of the most important sporting events of the 20^th century.

“It just brought so much pride to the country,” Kalubi said. “I would say that for this generation of Congolese … this [2026 World Cup] is that generation’s equivalent.”

What is the Congolese Association Football Federation?

Though this will be the first time the Democratic Republic of Congo will compete in the FIFA World Cup, it’s technically true in name only.

In 1974, when Congo was called Zaire, the national soccer team became the first sub-Saharan African nation to compete in the World Cup, where it was eliminated in the group stage.

But this will be the national team’s first appearance since then, and the first as the DRC national football team, which goes by the nickname “the Leopards.”

Its governing body, the Congolese Association Football Federation (FECOFA), was founded in 1919 when the nation was still colonized by Belgium. FECOFA became affiliated with FIFA in 1962, and it became a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 1963.

Currently, the Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked 46^th in FIFA’s ranking of men’s soccer teams across the globe. It’s a long shot bid for the international title, but one Congo fans are still excited about.

Their match on June 17 will be against Portugal, one of the top teams in the world. They’ll also face Colombia on June 23 in Guadalajara, and Uzbekistan on June 27 in Atlanta.

“They’re super excited to come to Houston,” Houston host committee president Chris Canetti told reporters on Wednesday. “And we’re ready to welcome them with open arms and give them a great Houston experience.”

Living and practicing in Houston

In June, the Congo team will make a journey across the Atlantic Ocean to H-Town, where it will be based throughout the tournament.

Though the exact date of arrival has not been finalized, officials with the Houston World Cup host committee predict their arrival will come around June 10 or 11, just as the World Cup kicks off in Mexico City.

When they arrive, the team will practice at SaberCats Stadium, which was home to a now-defunct rugby team in Houston. New sod was laid down in April, giving the team a good-as-new pitch, officials said.

Unlike the high-caliber grass grown for Houston’s matches in NRG Stadium, the sod installed at the base camp was grown in Warden, Texas, meaning it’s cultivated for Texas heat.

“You can actually set up three smaller soccer fields if you go horizontally across it,” John Coppins, vice president of operations for the host committee, told reporters standing at SaberCats Stadium on Wednesday. “So exactly how they’re going to set up and utilize the space [is] still a work in progress. But there’s a gym facility on site; there’s a full catering kitchen and concessions on site, if they decided to do team meals here; locker room facilities; team treatment areas.”

Renovations were still being completed on the team locker rooms and fitness facilities on site when reporters were given a preview of the training site, which will be called “Houston Training Centre” for the duration of the World Cup.

But the training site is just that: a training site. Twenty miles north, the team will be residing at a hotel near the Galleria.

“It’s expected that the majority of their meals, performance recovery activities will take place back at the team base camp hotel,” Coppins said. “They mentioned they’re bringing a couple chefs with the team who will be at the hotel.”

Though the team may have fans eager to see them while they’re in Houston, they won’t be able to do so from the base camp. The training site will be closed off to the public, with a number of security guards there. The host committee said much of that comes from security guidelines from FIFA.

DRC president and other leaders could come to Houston

It’s not certain that the president of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, will be in attendance in Houston. But the World Cup host committee is preparing for it, having spoken with members of the presidential cabinet.

“There was definite enthusiasm for a lot of people to be traveling over, and they were going to be coordinating that,” Canetti, president of the host committee, told reporters in April.

A spokesperson added that that included Tshisekedi.

“That’s what they were talking about, yeah,” Canetti said. “So, I wouldn’t say it’s confirmed that they’re coming, but that’s the level of excitement.”

Foreign dignitaries and international leaders are common sightings at World Cup matches. In 2022, then-U.S. President Joe Biden sent a presidential delegation to Qatar for the tournament (after attending the 2010 tournament as vice president). French President Emanuel Macron attended, as did Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Should Tshisekedi — or any other foreign leader — come to Houston, officials told Houston Public Media safety and security will be handled through either the U.S. Department of State or Secret Service, with the Houston Police Department as well.

“There’ll be a lot of dignitaries and VIPs coming through the course of the tournament,” said Tommy Calabro, chief safety and security officer for the host committee. “We don’t have a total list yet, but we’re prepared for that, as far as dignitary protection and things of those nature. We do it all the time in Houston, so we’re prepared.”

Houston airports are also preparing for the possibility of dignitaries coming to Houston. Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System, told Houston Public Media the airports have coordination with the U.S. Department of State and other organizations, both during and outside of the World Cup.

Ebola ‘not a broad public health threat,’ city health director says

Even with a potential surge in travel ahead of the World Cup, city officials have said they’re not concerned about an outbreak of Ebola disease as a result of international travel from the tournament.

In a briefing before the Houston City Council, Houston Health Department director Theresa Tran said city officials do not expect a surge of Congolese fans, but “if there is, then once they are in the stadium, it would have been because they have been out of the DRC or Sudan or Uganda within the past 21 days.”

Both FIFA and Houston’s World Cup host committee have monitored the outbreak of Ebola. In a statement, the host committee told Houston Public Media their organization “is being briefed by FIFA, public health experts, and relevant medical agencies regarding recent virus outbreaks. The Host Committee will follow the guidance and recommendations of health authorities as preparations for the tournament move forward.”

Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport has also been selected to screen airline passengers traveling from African countries impacted by the outbreak.

The Congolese national soccer team is not in Congo at the moment but rather in Europe. On Wednesday, Congo’s national football federation, FECOFA, confirmed it was complying with FIFA health protocols, allowing the team to play in the tournament.

A training camp scheduled in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was canceled, as was a sendoff fan event.

“The Leopards are ready, they are safe, and I have no doubt that the United States will embrace this team and this moment with the warmth that has defined America for 250 years,” DRC ambassador Yvette Kapinga Ngandu said, according to a news release.

As for the Congolese fans, many of them appear out of luck on the prospects of getting to the match in Houston. Ngandu went on to add, “My heart goes out to every Congolese fan who saved and planned and dreamed of being in the stadium cheering on the Leopards, only to be turned away through no fault of their own.”

“For people in the diaspora, seeing the soccer team come and compete is an immense joy for us,” Tshiunza Kalubi said. “What we feel here in the diaspora is multiplied times 10 on the streets of Kinshasa and all throughout the country. So I’m sure people are devastated if they’re not able to travel.”

Houston Public Media’s Dominic Anthony Walsh and Adam Zuvanich contributed to this report.

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