The Congolese Minister of Sports, Hughes Nguilondile, announced that his country had withdrawn from its match against Niger in the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

This decision came after the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) refused to allow Congo to host the match at the Alphonse Masamba Debate Stadium in the capital, Brazzaville, and FIFA’s insistence on holding it at the Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Nguilondile said: “The Congo national team will not play in Kinshasa. We accept the apology because the Congo is a country that sticks to its word, and when we give our word, we respect it.
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The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that it had “temporarily suspended its withdrawal,” without specifying a timetable for the next phase, after the completion of the first phase last June.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ambassador to the United Nations, Zenon Mukonjo Ngai, said, “The first phase of the withdrawal in South Kivu Province was completed on June 25, and was scheduled to be completed by last April.”

He pointed out that “conditions are not yet available for the next stage,” accusing Rwanda of working to “escalate clashes in the troubled eastern Congo.”

“In light of Rwanda’s ongoing aggression in North Kivu, the next phase of withdrawal will be implemented, when conditions permit, following ongoing joint assessments,” he said in a speech before the UN Security Council.
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