A pre-World Cup friendly match involving the Democratic Republic of Congo has been cancelled by the mayor of the Spanish town scheduled to host the game, citing health concerns linked to the Ebola outbreak in the Central African nation.
Juan Franco, mayor of La Línea de la Concepción in southern Spain, announced that he had signed a decree prohibiting the June 9 friendly between DR Congo and Chile.
According to Franco, the decision was taken as a precautionary measure following recommendations from the Andalusian regional health authorities and local medical officials.
“I have signed the decree banning the holding of the June 9 match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile,” Franco stated, adding that health experts had advised against hosting the fixture due to potential public health risks.
La Línea de la Concepción, a town of about 65,000 residents near the border with Gibraltar, had been selected as the venue for the international friendly.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, which has qualified for its first FIFA World Cup since participating as Zaire in the 1974 tournament, is currently based in Belgium after cancelling a planned training camp at home due to the Ebola outbreak declared in eastern DR Congo in mid-May.
The Congolese team remains scheduled to play Denmark in a friendly match in Liège, Belgium, before travelling to North America for the FIFA World Cup.
United States authorities have reportedly required the team to observe a 21-day isolation period before entering the country for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
DR Congo are expected to begin their World Cup campaign against Portugal before facing Colombia and Uzbekistan in subsequent group-stage fixtures.
