Mayor cancels DR Congo friendly with Chile in Spain over Ebola concern

DR Congo's players train at Liege's stadium before their friendly with Denmark

Image source, ReutersImage caption,

DR Congo's players have been at a training camp in Belgium

ByTimothy AbrahamBBC Sport journalist

Published2 hours ago

Democratic Republic of Congo's international friendly against Chile in Spain next week has been cancelled after authorities raised health concerns over the Ebola outbreak in the African nation.

Juan Franco, mayor of the city of La Linea de la Concepcion, has signed a decree which prevents the fixture from going ahead on 9 June as planned.

The decision was described as a "precautionary measure" and comes after recommendations from the Andalusian regional health service and the municipality's own medical department.

"A report by the head of the mayoralty's health service of La Linea advised categorically against hosting the match given the health risks which might arise," Franco said.

La Linea, a coastal resort in the of around 65,000 people in the province of Cadiz close to the Gibraltar border, had been due to host the match as both nations continued their preparations for the World Cup.

DR Congo are currently based in Belgium after they cancelled a planned pre-tournament training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.

BBC Sport understands that none of DR Congo's players - who all play for clubs outside of the country - have visited their homeland recently, but some support staff and fans have travelled from there.

DR Congo are scheduled to face Denmark in a friendly in Liege on Wednesday.

The US's public health agency has banned entry from non-Americans who have been in the DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, in response to the Ebola outbreak.

The outbreak in eastern DR Congo has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo.

There is currently no vaccine for this species and the World Health Organisation has said it could take up to nine months for a jab to be ready.

DR Congo, who have qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, plan to base themselves in Houston during the tournament and are scheduled to open their Group K campaign there against Portugal on 17 June.

They will then travel to the Mexican city of Guadalajara to face Colombia before returning to the United States to take on Uzbekistan in Atlanta.