The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DR Congo) football team has cancelled a three-day World Cup preparation training camp and a planned farewell to fans in the capital Kinshasa due to the Ebola outbreak in the east of the country, according to Global News.
WHO Confirms Ebola Outbreak
The World Health Organization declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, with at least 139 suspected deaths and more than 600 suspected cases.
DR Congo is scheduled to play World Cup warm-up games against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, on June 3 and Chile in southern Spain on June 9. Both matches are going ahead as planned, team spokesman Jerry Kalemo told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“There were three stages of preparation: in Kinshasa to say goodbye to the public, Belgium and Spain, with two friendly matches against Denmark in Liege and Chile in Spain and the third stage from June 11 in Houston, United States. Only one stage was cancelled — the one in Kinshasa,” Kalemo said.
The Congo players and the team’s French coach, Sébastien Desabre, are based outside of the central African country, with most of them playing in France.
Kalemo said that some of the team staff who are based in Congo were “leaving in the next hours” on Wednesday.
FIFA Aware Of Ebola Outbreak In DR Congo
A FIFA spokesperson told The New York Times that the organization is “aware of and monitoring the situation regarding an Ebola outbreak and is in close communication with the DR Congo Football Association to ensure that the team are made aware of all medical and security guidance.”
The White House World Cup task force, housed under the Department of Homeland Security, told The Associated Press that it is “coordinating closely” with various agencies on health and security matters and that the government is “closely monitoring” the outbreak.
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The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this week that the U.S. would ban the entry of all foreign nationals who had been in Congo, Uganda and South Sudan within the past three weeks. The ban lasts for 30 days.
“It’s been confined right now to Africa but it’s something that’s had a breakout,” U.S. President Donald Trump said about the Ebola outbreak on Monday while speaking to the press.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press the Congolese World Cup team would not be affected by the CDC entry ban because it had been training in Europe for the past several weeks.
DR Congo End Long Wait For First World Cup Appearance Since 1974
DR Congo will be making its first World Cup appearance since debuting in 1974 in the former West Germany.
In the playoff final in November in Morocco, DR Congo edged out Nigeria’s Super Eagles on penalties to reach the Intercontinental playoff in Mexico.
The Leopards pipped Jamaica in the playoff final to join nine other Africans countries for the global showpiece.
