The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the hottest sports event of the year, and it will be the first-ever World Cup to feature 10 African teams. They will do everything possible to live up to the fans’ expectations, and some of them, like Morocco, are considered to be dark horses.
Like every big event, however, the World Cup also had its fair share of controversies, especially among African teams. We at Efirbet South Africa have been following everything related to all teams there, so here are some of the biggest controversies you need to be aware of.
The AFCON 2025: Senegal’s Triumph Was Stripped
There is absolutely no denying that the AFCON 2025 controversy is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing scandals in Africa. It’s one of the most shocking controversies in African football history because it includes Morocco and Senegal. The two are Africa’s strongest representatives at the 2026 World Cup.
In case you have missed it, Senegal defeated Morocco in the AFCON 2025 Grand Final and won the competition. However, there was tension late in the match due to a controversial penalty that Morocco received. Following this decision, Senegal’s players walked off the pitch to protest, both because of the referee’s disallowing of their goal and because of the decision.
Anyway, Senegal ended up winning the match, but Morocco decided to protest to the Confederation Africaine de Football. After several weeks of waiting, the regulating authority said that Senegal had forfeited the match by leaving the field. As a result, Morocco won the match with a 3-0 score.
Needless to say, this retroactive decision sparked outrage among fans everywhere. Senegal was not happy and decided to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
Considering that this happened just a few months ago, it’s no surprise that these events have had an effect on Morocco and Senegal’s preparation for the 2026 World Cup. As mentioned, both countries are among the big names from Africa, so fans have expectations from them. We really hope that the scandal will not affect the way they place because both are in interesting groups.
Cape Verde Player Investigation
Cape Verde will also be one of the African countries that we will see in action in just a few weeks from now. Since we are on the topic of controversies, however, we need to address the investigation over an alleged sexual assault.
The current investigation does not reveal any names, but a player is being investigated by the New Zealand police. Apparently, one player from Cape Verde was involved in this assault in a hotel in Auckland after a friendly match.
The bad news about Cape Verde is that this incident overshadows the country’s first-ever World Cup. The investigation is still ongoing, so no one knows what will happen, but this incident definitely has a negative impact on the team. It is one of the many cases that we will keep a close eye on in the future.
South Africa’s Ineligible Player and Nigeria’s Protest
South Africa will be one of the most interesting African countries we will see at the 2024 FIFA World Cup, but it was also involved in a controversy. Apparently, the country was playing with an ineligible player – Teboho Mokoena. He should have been suspended due to receiving too many yellow cards, but it seems like no one noticed it.
Naturally, some of South Africa’s opponents during the World Cup qualifiers were not happy with the news. In fact, there was a debate over whether the match results should be overturned, but it did not happen.
Speaking of qualifiers and controversies, we also have to talk about Nigeria. The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the competition and then filed a formal protest regarding DR Congo. According to Nigeria, DR Congo used players who were ineligible under the national citizenship law.
In the end, FIFA kind of agreed with Nigeria that the rules were broken, but this did not overturn the results. Consequently, DR Congo will attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup, whereas Nigeria will miss out on this year’s competition.
Refereeing Appointments and Perceived Bias
The next controversy surrounding African teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup concerns a referee’s decision. It includes several South African referees that FIFA appointed for the match between Gabon and Nigeria. According to some Nigerians, these referees were not unbiased because Nigeria and South Africa had a conflict of interest in the Group Stage.
Nothing came out of these allegations, really, but it left a bad impression on Nigerian fans. When you also add the scandal with DR Congo, it is easy to see why many Nigerians were very disappointed by everything.
Visa and Travel Barriers for Fans Ahead of the Competition
While on the topic of FIFA 2026 World Cup controversies and Africa, we need to address the elephant in the room – Visas. This year’s competition will take place in Canada, Mexico and the USA, but the majority of matches are in the latter. Needless to say, there are all kinds of travel restrictions and many people wishing to attend the event will have issues.
Some countries are far more affected by these restrictions than others. People from places like Senegal, Tunisia and Cabo Verde face significant financial and bureaucratic barriers. This makes it really difficult for the average person to watch the 2026 World Cup.
Closing Thoughts
The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has had its fair share of controversies in Africa. We have already seen some of the more prominent scandals, but there are loads of smaller ones that add up to the frustration.
We really hope that African teams will be able to leave everything behind and focus on what is to come. This is the most important World Cup for the continent since 2010 and fans will be eager to see their countries do well.
