Congo must – The White House World Cup leadership has told Congo’s national team to keep a strict 21-day “bubble” in Belgium to avoid being blocked from entering the United States amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congo’s World Cup preparations are being tested not on the training pitch, but by a hard 21-day countdown to the United States.
Andrew Giuliani. the executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup. revealed that the US has instructed FIFA. the Congolese national team and the Congolese government that any squad members must remain inside a controlled “bubble” in Belgium. where they are currently training ahead of two warmup games. The order is stark: isolate for 21 days or risk being denied entry for the tournament this summer.
Giuliani said the timeline is connected directly to travel. “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. ” he said. He added that the instruction was delivered to the Congo government as well. “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.”.
The warning comes after Congo were forced to cancel a pre-World Cup training camp in Kinshasa, weeks before they were due to travel to the US. The cancellation followed the outbreak of Ebola in the eastern region of the country.
The figures being cited are grim: 600 suspected cases and 139 deaths in DR Congo reported.
As the team’s schedule firms up, the stakes for the bubble grow clearer. Congo’s opening World Cup game against Portugal is scheduled to be played in Houston on June 17. Six days later. they are due to face Colombia in the Mexican city of Zapopan. before heading to Atlanta to take on Uzbekistan in their final group outing on June 27.
Giuliani framed the policy as a border safeguard. “We want to make sure that there is nothing that’s going to come in or near our borders here on this,” he said.
Inside the bubble, the rules are extended beyond just players. Giuliani said anyone else arriving would need a separate setup. “If there are other people that are going to be coming in. they need to have a separate bubble from that team. If they end up coming. and any of those people end up symptomatic. they are risking the entire team being able to come and compete in this World Cup. ” he said.
Congo’s player group, along with their French coach Sebastien Desabre, are based outside the country, with most of them playing in France. Some staff members based in Congo also left the country this week, a detail that underscores how disrupted normal life has already been.
Giuliani also pointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitoring procedures already underway in Europe. He explained that the CDC has staff in Europe monitoring two American doctors in quarantine after they were exposed to Ebola.
The World Cup plan for Congo may still be intact on paper—Belgium training. two warmup games ahead. and a scheduled arrival for June 11—but the message from Washington is that entry to the tournament is conditional. For this squad, it isn’t only match-day nerves anymore. It’s the integrity of the bubble. measured in days. that will decide whether they step onto the field in Houston. or watch the opening stretch from the outside.
Congo Ebola World Cup Belgium bubble Houston June 11 Portugal June 17 Colombia Zapopan Uzbekistan Atlanta Andrew Giuliani FIFA Kinshasa training camp canceled Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
So they just gotta hang in Belgium for 21 days? Wild.
I don’t get it—if it’s Ebola they should be stopping the whole travel thing, not making them do a “bubble” like it’s a vacation. 21 days in Belgium sounds kinda cruel tbh.
This is just politics. They’re gonna let whoever they want into the US, bubble or not. Also Belgium is probably safer than Congo anyway so why punish them like that? Makes no sense.
Wait, so FIFA is being told by the White House to isolate in Belgium because of Ebola in the DRC… but couldn’t they just check temps at the airport? Like isn’t Ebola already been contained? I saw 600 suspected cases and 139 deaths and my brain just went blank. Hopefully this doesn’t mess up the whole Portugal game.