Fifa Has made a big decision to participate in Congo-Brazzaville in the next 2026 FIFA World Cup. In an official statement released on May 14, the Global Football Management Agency confirmed that the suspension of the Congolese Football Association (Fecofoot) has been raised, which potentially allows the African nation to join the qualification process again.
The World Cup 2026, which will start in just over a year, will be worth over three North American nations: Canada, Mexico and the United States. It will be the first time the tournament has 48 teams instead of the traditional 32, which creates more opportunities for countries from all six football associations to participate.
So far, only seven nations have officially booked their places in the tournament: The three host countries, along with New Zealand, Japan, Iran and Argentina. The remaining 41 seats will be determined in the coming months, with the final qualification that is expected to be unpacked at the end of March 2026.
Background: Why was Congo interrupted?
Congo-Brazzaville’s path to the World Cup had been stopped earlier this year. Back in February, FIFA canceled fecofoot due to third -party disorder in its operations– An act that violates FIFA’s strict regulations on National Football Association’s autonomy. The interference disturbed internal governance and led to FIFA postponing Congo’s scheduled mars’ qualifications against Tanzania and Zambia.
But after months of monitoring the situation, FIFA announced that the necessary conditions for lifting the suspension have now been met. The official statement read:
“Bureau of Fifa Council decided on May 14, 2025 to lift the cancellation introduced at the Congolese Football Association (Fecofoot) on February 6, 2025. The decision was made after the conditions requested by the presents to lift the cancellation had been fulfilledIncluding the return of full control of the FECOFOOT head office, Ignié Technical Center and the association’s other facilities to Fecofoot Executive Committee under the direction of Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas and his administration. “
This announcement opens the door again for Congo-Brazzaville to participate in the qualification campaign. But their path to the World Cup remains an upward struggle. The team is currently sitting at the bottom of its qualified group, and it is unclear when the shot matches against Tanzania and Zambia will be re -planned.
The remainder of Congo’s qualification campaign includes four more groups of group steps, planned for September and October 2025. If they miraculously climb the scaffold, they would also have to go through the African playoffs planned for November.
Although qualifying for the World Cup 2026 is still a long shot for Congo-Brazzaville, the lifting of their suspension represents an important first step towards restoring their presence in international football. With just over a year to go before the tournament begins, each game will now count more than ever for the team’s hope of getting to North America.
