FIFA is facing renewed scrutiny over player eligibility after reports citing internal documents said DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi had not completed the required process to switch his international association from France before representing the Leopards.
The disclosure cuts directly into a dispute Nigeria had already taken to world football’s governing body after the Super Eagles were eliminated by DR Congo in the African play-off final in November 2025.
The Nigeria Football Federation formally challenged the eligibility of players used by DR Congo and later announced that it was appealing after FIFA rejected its petition.
Now the controversy has widened.
Reports published this week say FIFA’s own legal officials subsequently identified a problem with Mpasi’s eligibility because the goalkeeper, who previously represented France at youth level, had not completed the required change-of-association procedure.
FIFA has not publicly released the reported internal finding.
Nigeria challenged DR Congo months earlier
Nigeria’s dispute began after the November 16, 2025 African play-off final in Rabat.
The match finished 1-1 after regulation and extra time before DR Congo won on penalties, ending Nigeria’s route to the intercontinental play-off.
The NFF subsequently petitioned FIFA over player eligibility and later said it had begun an appeal after the governing body rejected the complaint.
The fresh reporting does not establish that Nigeria’s original petition and the Mpasi issue were identical in every legal detail.
It does, however, raise a sharper question about how FIFA handled eligibility concerns involving the same DR Congo qualification campaign.
Mpasi’s switch moves to the centre of the dispute
Mpasi was born in France and represented France at youth level before going on to play senior international football for DR Congo.
Under FIFA’s eligibility framework, players who have represented one association in circumstances covered by the regulations may require formal approval before changing association.
The new reports say that process was not completed in Mpasi’s case.
Media organisations citing internal FIFA documents reported that FIFA legal officials identified the issue in 2026, after Mpasi had already represented DR Congo during the qualification campaign.
That reported finding has not been published by FIFA as a formal public ruling.
Why the issue matters to Nigeria
The significance extends beyond one player.
Nigeria had already questioned DR Congo’s eligibility compliance after losing its World Cup qualification route.
FIFA rejected that complaint, and the NFF challenged the decision.
The newly reported Mpasi material therefore places additional pressure on the governing body to explain whether a separate eligibility problem existed, when it became aware of it and how the matter was handled.
The distinction is important.
It is officially established that Nigeria challenged DR Congo’s player eligibility and appealed FIFA’s rejection.
It is separately reported that FIFA lawyers later identified an incomplete change-of-association process involving Mpasi.
Those are related developments, but they are not the same claim.
Pressure shifts back to FIFA
For Nigeria, the sporting consequence cannot simply be undone by fresh reporting months later.
The Super Eagles lost their qualification pathway on the pitch, while DR Congo advanced.
But the new disclosures have moved attention back toward FIFA’s administrative handling of the case.
The central question is no longer only whether Nigeria’s original complaint succeeded.
It is also whether FIFA became aware of a separate eligibility problem involving a DR Congo player and, if so, what action followed.
Until FIFA publishes a detailed explanation addressing the reported internal finding, that question will remain open.
Nigeria once asked whether DR Congo had fielded players who should not have been eligible.
FIFA now faces a different question: what did its own process establish, and what happened next?
