{
  "id": 6915379,
  "title": "DR Congo's World Cup exploits encourage more players to join their cause",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/dr-congos-world-cup-exploits-encourage-more-players-to-join-their",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-12T11:38:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/dr-congos-world-cup-exploits-encourage-more-players-join-their-cause-6380231"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Democratic Republic of Congo's World Cup performance in 2022 has led to a surge of European-born players joining their national team. Coach Sebastien Desabre aims to expand the player pool and capitalize on this success. Six new players have been added to the squad, with four having previously played for junior-level teams. However, obtaining FIFA's permission to switch nationalities is a requirement for these players. Desabre has been actively seeking players of Congolese heritage to join the team, with recent matches against Uganda and Zimbabwe scheduled to persuade more players. Despite some players expressing their desire to play for the Congolese team, they must wait three years before making the switch due to caps restrictions.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Nation Africa",
        "title": "DR Congo's World Cup exploits encourage more players to join their cause",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/dr-congos-world-cup-exploits-encourage-more-players-to-join-their-6941630",
        "published": "2026-09-12T14:46:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}