Officials have given reasons why world football governing body FIFA rejected the Super Eagles petition against DR Congo for fielding several ineligible players in a 2026 World Cup Playoffs.
Nigeria petitioned FIFA that several DRC players were fraudulently cleared to feature in the Playoffs in Rabat, Morocco, in November 2025 and as such the team should be disqualified.
However, it has now been gathered that FIFA communicated to the NFF on March 9, 2026, that they have rejected the petition.
Sports Village Square quoted FIFA inside sources as saying the protest did not meet the procedural requirements for it to be considered by the judicial bodies of FIFA.
The Nigerian complaint was received by FIFA on November 28, 2025, about two weeks after the Playoffs versus DRC.
By the regulations of the competition, protests regarding player eligibility must follow strict timelines that would involve communicating to the match commissioner within two hours after the match, followed by a detailed written submission within 24 hours.
The protest also ought to be accompanied by a protest fee of 1,000 Swiss Francs and this was not paid by the NFF and as such it was not processed by FIFA judicial bodies.
“The appeal that was widely reported was never actually entertained by FIFA judicial authorities because it did not meet the procedural requirements,” the inside source disclosed.
