Online Reporter
WHEN the Warriors finally begin their AFCON qualifiers, their Group E away match against favourites Democratic Republic of Congo could be played on a neutral venue owing to the Ebola outbreak.
However, that depends on the Ebola situation in the country when the match is played.
Already, the Democratic Republic of Congo national football team has cancelled a planned pre-World Cup training camp at home after the country was hit by the outbreak.
The Warriors were this week drawn into the same group with DRC, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leon.
The first round of matches for the qualifiers begin in September.
And this came at a time when the outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever was declared in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last Friday.
The 17th Ebola outbreak to hit the DRC is already suspected of having caused 139 deaths from around 600 probable cases.
The measures taken by the DRC FA on the World Cup are the closest of hints showing how they could again deal with the AFCON qualifiers.
The WC training camp that was due to begin in Kinshasa for three days has been relocated to Belgium, a team press officer told AFP, without confirming whether the Ebola outbreak was the reason for the decision.
“No players based domestically have been selected for the national squad,” he added.
DR Congo has qualified for the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, for only the second time after playing in 1974 when the country was known as Zaire.
They have planned to be based in Houston during the tournament, where they will play their first Group K match on June 17 against Portugal.
DR Congo is then scheduled to head to Guadalajara to play Colombia on June 24 before returning to the United States to play Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 28.
A US official said on Tuesday the team would be able to travel to play in the World Cup.
The United States has banned non-Americans who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days from visiting due to the outbreak.
– Zimpapers Sports Hub / AFP Sport
