DR Congo Ordered to Isolate 21 Days Before US Entry, Squad Holds Bubble in Belgium as Ebola Outbreak Worsens
The White House Task Force for the World Cup has told DR Congo, FIFA and the Kinshasa government that the national team must maintain a 21-day isolation bubble in Belgium before entering the United States, due to the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak the WHO has rated as a very high risk of national spread. The DRC team says their schedule is unchanged, including friendlies against Denmark and Chile, but a planned send-off trip to Kinshasa has been cancelled. Their World Cup opens against Portugal in Houston on June 17.
D R Congo will hold a 21-day isolation bubble in Belgium before entering the United States, after the White House Task Force for the World Cup told FIFA, the team and the government in Kinshasa that maintaining the bubble is a condition of travel. The instruction follows the WHO declaring the Bundibugyo strain Ebola outbreak in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda an emergency of international concern. The DRC team says its schedule is unchanged. The team's first match is in Houston against Portugal on June 17.
What the White House said
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, told ESPN: "We've been very clear to Congo that they should maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can then come to Houston on June 11th. We've made it very clear to the Congo government as well, that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer. We want to make sure there is nothing that's going to come in or near our borders." In a separate statement to AFP via the US Department of Homeland Security, Giuliani said the priority was the "safety and security of the American people, participating teams, and millions of fans".
The travel-ban exemption
US officials said this week that the DRC squad would be exempt from the travel ban that temporarily bars entry for non-Americans who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days. "We encourage the team to protect their players from unneeded exposure and maintain the integrity of their bubble to ensure that they are able to participate in the tournament," Giuliani said. The mechanism in practice is the same as the standard 21-day window the ban uses, applied through the team's European camp rather than a homeland-departure clock.
DR Congo: no change to the schedule
A DRC team spokesperson told AFP that the schedule remains in place, including a friendly against Denmark in Liège on June 3 and a second against Chile in Cádiz six days later. "We have kept our training programme. No player in the squad has come from DRC," the official said. The entire 26 are based outside the country, mostly in Europe, as is head coach Sébastien Desabre. A small number of team officials did fly in from the DRC to join the Belgium camp this week. A planned three-day celebratory send-off in Kinshasa next week has been cancelled.
The outbreak
The World Health Organization on Friday raised the risk of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola turning into a national outbreak in the DRC to "very high". There are no approved vaccines or treatments for this strain. The WHO has listed 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the DRC, with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The outbreak in the DRC and Uganda has been declared an emergency of international concern.
Group K and what comes next
DR Congo are at their second World Cup, after 1974, when the country was known as Zaire. They are drawn in Group K with Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan. The opener against Portugal is in Houston on June 17. The squad is set to maintain its Belgium base until the day 21 window closes around June 11, the tournament opening day, before flying directly to Houston.
Reporting: AFP / The Guardian / ESPN, May 23, 2026.