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17th December 2025
10:39am GMT
Football's global governing body FIFA have received an official request to kick a nation out of next year's World Cup.
According to a report from US-outlet ESPN, the complaint relates to one of the countries set to compete in the play-offs this Spring.
Aside from Wales, Northern Ireland and Italy in Europe, there are teams in Asia, Africa and Central America, also sill vying for a place at the tournament.
Central African nation DR Congo have been accused by fellow African giants Nigeria of fielding nine ineligible players during their qualification campaign.
Congo beat Nigeria 4-3 on penalties in the final of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) play-offs, giving them a spot in the FIFA intercontinental play-offs, where they'll face the winner of New Caledonia vs. Jamaica.
Nigeria have alleged that Congo broke rules by fielding players who were born in Europe but switched allegiance.
A statement has been made by the head of the Nigerian Football Federation, laying out the reasons behind their complaint, it reads: "The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual nationality.
"There are so many of them that have European passports, some of them French passports, some of them Dutch passports. The rules are very clear. We cannot say anything now but we have submitted our protest to FIFA.
"There are players that got theirs in just three months. So there is to us, what is considered as a breach of the regulation. That is why took that decision."
FIFA have announced they will provide some World Cup tickets for just £45, in response to global outcry over the price of tickets.
The tournament kicks off next June and will be played across North American nations; Canada, Mexico, and the USA where average sports tickets sell at a much higher rate than most European audiences are used to.
In light of America's different sporting model, fans across Europe have been expecting that this upcoming tournament could be one of the most expensive ever.
However, when ticket prices were finally revealed last week, the cost was even greater than anticipated.
Even with the cheapest possible ticket, it would have cost a single England supporter £5,000 to attend every match up to the final.
While FIFA have now announced that affordable tickets will be available for all 104 matches, only 10% of each nation's member's association will be able to buy them.
Sky News report suggest this will mean the number of £45 tickets for each match are likely to be in their hundreds rather than thousands.
FIFA laid out the reasons for their change in a statement.
It reads: "With demand in the current sales phase achieving 20 million ticket requests, FIFA has confirmed that fans of the national teams that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will benefit from a dedicated ticket pricing tier, which has been designed to make following their teams on football's greatest stage more affordable.
"The newly introduced Supporter Entry Tier will be available at the fixed price of USD 60 per ticket for each of the 104 matches, including the final."
