The country's president offers an exorbitant sum if the national team qualifies for the 2026 World Cup play-offs
Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 1:54 p.m. / Updated Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 1:55 p.m.
The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi (62 years old), has promised a prize of about one million euros to the national players, if they qualify for the play-offs for the World Cup in 2026.
The information was made by Sport News Africa, which states that the amount will be paid even if the team not manages to win the play-off and qualify for the next edition of the World Championship.
The head of state promises approximately one million euros for each player, according to abola.pt.
DR Congo, thinking about WC 2026 and the… prize
After missing out on the opportunity to reach the World Cup through direct qualification to Senegal, DR Congo can still hope for the final tournament. For this, the first step is to win the dam in the African area.
Among the best second-placed teams in the group stage, DR Congo will face the Cameroon national team and, in case of a win, will then play the winner of the duel between Gabon and Nigeria. The African zone play-off winner will advance to a FIFA international play-off.
The DR Congo head of state has pledged around one million euros in the event of qualifying for the intercontinental play-off, meaning players can receive the prize and then be eliminated in the next play-off, missing out on the 2026 World Cup.
For now, New Caledonia and Bolivia are the two nationalities already qualified for the intercontinental dam.
