The United States says it will make sure the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national football team can enter the country for the World Cup, despite a new Ebola-related travel ban affecting people who have recently been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan.
A senior State Department official said Washington expects the team to be able to take part in the tournament.
“We expect the DRC team to be able to attend the World Cup,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The assurance comes after the US imposed entry restrictions on non-Americans who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within the previous 21 days, citing the deadly Ebola outbreak in the region.
The DRC is the only one of the three affected countries to have qualified for the World Cup. The team is scheduled to begin its campaign against Portugal in Texas on June 17.
The official said the team has already been training in Europe, meaning the players may not fall under the ban in the first place. But if any members of the delegation had been in the DRC within the previous 21 days, they would be placed under protocols similar to those required for returning US citizens and permanent residents.
“We’re working to get them into the same protocol for testing in isolation that American citizens returning and permanent residents would be,” the official said.
The exemption is narrow. It would apply to the team, not to ordinary fans from the DRC hoping to travel to the United States to support them.
That distinction reflects the balance US authorities are trying to strike: keeping the World Cup on schedule while maintaining health restrictions tied to the Ebola outbreak.
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