US Slams World Cup Ban On DRCongo Fans And Recent Visitors Over Ebola Outbreak… Nation’s Team Camps In Houston
The World Cup team from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is expected to be able to come to the United States for the competition, but fans from the country will likely be blocked from coming to the United States under an Ebola-related travel ban, a senior State Department official said Tuesday.
On Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention invoked Title 42, a public health law that restricts entry to the US due to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The order applies to non-US passport holders if they have been in DRC, Uganda or South Sudan during the last 21 days.
“We expect that the team will be able to attend and participate in the World Cup,” the official told CNN.
“We’re working to get them into the same protocol for testing and isolation that American citizen returnees and legal permanent residents would be subject to,” they said.
They did not provide further details on that protocol, saying it was not out yet and being led by the CDC.
The official added that their understanding is that the DRC team is not training in the country and have been in Europe, so they might not even be subject to the restriction.
“At this point, we don’t anticipate exemptions for the fans,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s soccer team is attempting to navigate through a national Ebola outbreak in its preparations for the World Cup, though the squad still expects to compete in North America this summer.
FIFA issued a statement that “it is aware of and monitoring the situation regarding an Ebola outbreak and is in close communication with the Congo DR Football Association to ensure that the team are made aware of all medical and security guidance.
DR Congo scrapped a planned training camp that was due to be held in the capital, Kinshasa, this coming Sunday.
“Our team’s preparation program is proceeding as planned in Europe and Houston,” a DR Congo spokesperson told Politico.com. “It is the Kinshasa leg that has been cancelled due to health restrictions.”
The DR Congo team is due to make Houston its North American base during the summer, with its opening group K game scheduled in that city on 17 June against Portugal.
DR Congo’s other group games will be on 23 June against Colombia in Zapopan, Mexico, and on 27 June against Uzbekistan in Atlanta.
The president of Houston’s World Cup host committee, Chris Canetti, told USA Today, “As you can imagine, we are taking advisement from Fifa and health officials on this. As of now, there are no changes in plans. The team arrival date is scheduled for 11 June.”
