CAF Disciplinary Board v. Fédération Congolaise de Football (FECOFOOT)

Congo won its TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 qualifying tie against Equatorial Guinea on the pitch: a 0-0 draw in the first leg on 21 December 2024, followed by a 2-1 win in the return leg on 29 December, for a 2-1 aggregate victory. Equatorial Guinea's football federation (FEGUIFUT) filed a complaint alleging Congo had fielded an ineligible player across both matches: Mankou Nguembete Japhet Eloi, reported to have been registered with Leones Vegetarianos, a club based in Equatorial Guinea itself — a problem specific to CHAN, since the tournament is restricted to players registered with clubs in their own country's domestic league. Congo was also reported to have failed to present valid national licences for its players more generally.

The CAF Disciplinary Board found the Fédération Congolaise de Football (FECOFOOT) guilty of fielding an ineligible player in both matches, in breach of Article 39(1) and Articles 2, 12, and 38 of the CHAN regulations, and Article 150 of the CAF Disciplinary Code. Announced between 20 and 23 January 2025, the ruling declared both legs forfeited by Congo, recording each as a 3-0 win for Equatorial Guinea, and fined FECOFOOT USD 10,000, payable within 60 days. The practical effect reversed the tie entirely: Equatorial Guinea, previously eliminated, replaced Congo in the tournament, joining Group D alongside defending champions Senegal, Sudan, and Nigeria for the finals hosted by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania in August 2025.

This case is a useful companion to the separate Gabon and Guinea age/identity-eligibility matters elsewhere in this library: unlike those cases, which turned on falsified age documentation or a jersey-number discrepancy, this one addressed a player's registration to a club in the wrong country entirely, with the club having actually won both matches on the pitch before losing the tie in its entirety at the disciplinary stage.