# Congo cancels Kinshasa World Cup send-off as Ebola outbreak worsens

Congo’s soccer team has canceled a three-day World Cup preparation camp and a planned farewell to fans in Kinshasa because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.

The AP report says only the Kinshasa leg was scrapped. Training and travel to Europe and later the United States remained in place, and the team’s spokesman said the warm-up matches against Denmark and Chile would go ahead as scheduled.

The decision reflects the tension between sporting preparation and a public health emergency. Congo is preparing for its first World Cup appearance since 1974, when it was known as Zaire, and the qualification triggered celebrations across the country. But the outbreak in the east, described as a rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, has changed the tone of those preparations.

The report says the outbreak is thought to have caused more than 130 deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases. The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. That alone explains why a public send-off in the capital was considered too risky.

At the same time, the team itself is largely based outside Congo. Most players are in France and the coach, Sébastien Desabre, is French. Some staff in Congo were said to be leaving within hours. FIFA said it was monitoring the situation closely and communicating with the national federation to make sure the team had medical and security guidance.

The story also intersects with travel policy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would ban entry for foreign nationals who had been in Congo, Uganda and South Sudan within the previous three weeks for 30 days. A U.S. official said the team would not be affected if its members had been training in Europe and had not recently returned to Congo. Fans, however, would not get the same exception.

Congo’s World Cup schedule remains intact on paper. It is in Group K and opens against Portugal in Houston, then plays Colombia in Guadalajara and Uzbekistan in Atlanta. Those details matter because they show the team is still planning a full international campaign, even as one stage of its build-up has been abandoned at home.

The event date is therefore a cautionary snapshot: a national team trying to prepare for the world stage while a dangerous outbreak changes the practical limits of public gathering at home.