The pending petition from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) challenging the eligibility of some players in the squad of DR Congo that defeated Nigeria on penalties, to grab the sole ticket to represent Africa at the intercontinental playoff for a spot at the world cup.
After the defeat in November, Nigeria acting on a tip off from sources in DR Congo decided to file a petition against around seven players of the team of their opponent who have dual nationality.
The players were duly cleared by FIFA to switch nationality to DR Congo, but the NFF argue that the process that led to the issuance of the passport used for the clearance was fraudulent.
According to the General Secretary (GS) of the football house they have submitted the evidences to FIFA, and are hopeful of a favourable outcome that will see Nigeria take the place of DR Congo in next month’s intercontinental playoff.
“FIFA rules say once you have a passport of your country, you’re eligible, and that is why they were cleared,” Sanusi explained. “But our concern is that FIFA was deceived into clearing them. It is not FIFA’s responsibility to enforce Congo’s domestic regulations; FIFA acts based on what is submitted to it. What we are saying is that the process was fraudulent,” he said while explaining the decision to submit the petition.
