DR Congo cancel World Cup training camp in Kinshasa over Ebola outbreak

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) football team have cancelled a three-day World Cup preparation training camp and a planned public farewell to fans in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.

DRC are scheduled to play World Cup warm-up games against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, on June 3, and Chile in southern Spain on June 9. Both matches are going ahead as planned, team spokesman Jerry Kalemo told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

“There were three stages of preparation: In Kinshasa to say goodbye to the public, Belgium and Spain with two friendly matches against Denmark in Liege and Chile in Spain, and the third stage from June 11 in Houston, United States. Only one stage was canceled – the one in Kinshasa,” Kalemo said.

The team’s pre-tournament preparations will now take place elsewhere after an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola known as Bundibugyo, which is thought to have killed more than 130 people and caused nearly 600 suspected cases.

The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern.

All of the DRC players and the team’s French coach, Sebastien Desabre, are based outside of the central African country, with most of them playing in France.

A number of team staff who are based in DRC “are leaving in the next hours”, Kalemo said.

Football’s governing body FIFA issued a statement that “it is aware of and monitoring the situation regarding an Ebola outbreak and is in close communication with the DRC Football Association to ensure that the team are made aware of all medical and security guidance.”

The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that the US would ban the entry of all foreign nationals who had been in DRC, Uganda and South Sudan within the past three weeks. The ban lasts for 30 days.

A US official said the Congolese World Cup team would not be affected by the CDC entry ban because they had been training in Europe for the past several weeks. That means team members, coaches and other officials who have not returned to DRC in the past three weeks would not be subject to the entry ban, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy has not been publicly announced.

Those members of the Congolese World Cup delegation who did return to DRC during the 21 days will be subject to the same quarantine requirements as US citizens seeking to return from affected countries, according to the official. That exception will not apply to Congolese fans who want to attend the World Cup, the official said.