Legal officials at FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, had privately determined that the Democratic Republic of Congo was fielding an ineligible player, according to internal documents and correspondence reviewed by The New York Times. Congo needed to win one more match, an eliminator against Jamaica, to reach the World Cup for the first time in 52 years. FIFA quietly allowed the player, and the team, to continue. Congo beat Jamaica and secured its spot at the tournament. FIFA’s review of the Congo team followed a complaint about player eligibility filed by Nigeria, which Congo had defeated to reach the match with Jamaica. While investigating the complaint, FIFA found that Congo had never completed documentation to allow the goalkeeper, Lionel Mpasi, to switch affiliations after he played for France’s youth teams, according to the documents. FIFA did not deny any of the Times’ findings, saying only that it dismissed Nigeria’s case on a technicality.   submitted by   /u/Sparky-moon [link]   [comments]