Nigeria are considering a compensation claim against FIFA after reports that DR Congo fielded an ineligible goalkeeper in the playoff that ended the Super Eagles' World Cup bid. A senior National Sports Commission official told ESPN this week that Nigeria will “seriously consider seeking compensation from FIFA”, though nothing has been decided.
The trigger was a report by The New York Times, echoed by Le Monde. Both reviewed internal FIFA documents.
According to those reports, FIFA's own legal officials concluded that Lionel Mpasi was ineligible. His change of association from France had not been completed. Lawyers flagged it in March 2026. That was before DR Congo met Jamaica in the intercontinental playoff, and no disciplinary action followed.
DR Congo went to the World Cup.
What the NSC is saying
The official, who was not named, did not hold back. “Nigeria has been vindicated,” the official told ESPN. “When we said we had written a petition to FIFA, people accused us of all sorts of things.”
The losses are many. ESPN quoted the official citing World Cup revenue for the Super Eagles and the NFF, player exposure, transfers and sponsorship fees. “We are exploring all our options as a country and nothing is off the table.”
Abuja also wants the case reopened. “Nigeria will be seeking for FIFA to review the case because the case is about fraud and fraud does not have a time limit for punishment,” the official said. “DRC should be made to face consequences for what they have done, to serve as a lesson to others.”
FIFA has not addressed the compensation talk. Its line to The New York Times was that its committees are autonomous and “decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.”
How Nigeria lost the first round
The African playoff final in Rabat on 16 November 2025 ended 1-1 after extra time. DR Congo won 4-3 on penalties. Mpasi played all 120 minutes.
The NFF protested soon after, alleging that several DR Congo players had been wrongly cleared over questions about their nationality under Congolese law, a complaint that went wider than the Mpasi question, and then-NFF president Ibrahim Gusau insisted that FIFA had been deceived. “The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual nationality,” he said at the time.
FIFA dismissed the protest as filed too late.
On Thursday, Vanguard quoted a highly placed NSC source as saying FIFA also argued the petition went to the General Secretary rather than the legal portal.
So what changes for the Super Eagles? On the pitch, nothing. DR Congo have already lost 2-1 to England in the round of 32, with Mpasi in goal.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Playoff | DR Congo 1-1 Nigeria, 4-3 pens |
| Player | Lionel Mpasi, goalkeeper |
| Flagged | March 2026, FIFA lawyers |
| Nigeria | Weighing compensation |
Is there a precedent?
There is one. FIFA paid the Football Association of Ireland €5 million after the Irish threatened legal action over Thierry Henry's handball in the 2010 World Cup qualifying playoff against France, a payment that began as an interest-free loan, was later written off and was described by FIFA as a one-off. Nigeria's case is different. As ESPN noted, it centres on how FIFA enforces its own rules. The official recalled sanctions on South Africa, and on Nigeria themselves in 2018 qualifying. “By rule, these sanctions kick in automatically once it is identified.”
The battle has moved off the pitch.
This article was most recently revised and updated 21 seconds ago
