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The 2026 World Cup will unite approximately 1,248 players representing 48 nations in the most expansive edition of the tournament, yet the event is shadowed by concerns over a rapidly escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
DR Congo, set to appear in their first World Cup since 1974 (when they participated under the name Zaire), have scrapped their pre-tournament training camp in Kinshasa, the country's capital, due to the ongoing Ebola crisis in the area.
Although the World Health Organization has stopped short of classifying the deadly outbreak—involving a rare Ebola strain known as Bundibugyo—as a pandemic-level threat, it has designated the situation a "public health emergency of international concern." At the time of publication, the death toll had climbed to 139 suspected fatalities, with more than 600 confirmed cases reported across DR Congo and Uganda, the epicenter of the current outbreak.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on Tuesday that he is "deeply concerned about the scale and spread."
DR Congo have relocated their World Cup training camp to Belgium, where they will take on Denmark in a warm-up friendly on June 3, followed by a match against Spain on June 9, before beginning their U.S. and Mexico-based World Cup campaign against Group K opponents Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan.
Could Ebola Impact the World Cup?
In the United States, the federal government has enacted an emergency public health measure barring entry to anyone who has visited DR Congo, Uganda, South Sudan or other affected nations within the past 21 days.
While all 26 players on DR Congo's roster are based outside the affected region—making them eligible to enter the U.S.—concerns persist regarding the team's coaching staff, officials, journalists and supporters who may be unable to secure U.S. visas or gain entry under the new restrictions.
"FIFA is aware of and monitoring the situation regarding an Ebola outbreak and is in close communication with the Congo DR Football Association to ensure that the team are made aware of all medical and security guidance," a FIFA spokesperson told The Athletic.
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North American Spread Not Likely
On Wednesday, the U.S. federal entry ban caused an Air France flight to be rerouted to Montreal, Canada, after a passenger aboard the originally scheduled Paris-to-Detroit route was refused entry to the United States, according to online flight tracking service FlightAware.
WHO officials, U.S. health authorities and FIFA remain on heightened alert over the outbreak, as the Bundibugyo strain currently has no available treatments or vaccines. However, the U.S. has severed its ties with the WHO, and the Trump administration has yet to appoint a director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mexico, which remains a WHO member, has issued an Ebola-related travel advisory but has not prohibited travelers from DR Congo from entering the country.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch of Toronto noted that exposure to the virus outside of Eastern and Central Africa would be "very rare, but obviously not 0%," in an interview with CTV News, referencing a 2014 West African outbreak that infected 28,000 people and resulted in over 11,000 deaths, yet did not trigger a significant North American outbreak.
"There were very few, but still some cases that travelled through commercial airlines to distant locations, to, for example, Nigeria, and of course to the United States," he said. "This is the time where governments around the world will start looking at their interactions and their proximity through air travel with the affected countries, and they might start seeing screening questions in airports."