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An outbreak of a rare type of Ebola is set to prevent fans from the Democratic Republic of Congo from traveling to their country’s first World Cup since 1974.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new order that bans visitors who have spent time recently in three African nations that is “intended to reduce the risk of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus.” One of those countries is the Democratic Republic of Congo, is set to play in the World Cup this summer, which is jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
A senior State Department official told CNN that they “expect that the team will be able to attend and participate,” but they “don’t anticipate exemptions for the fans.”
The World Health Organization on Wednesday said it suspects 139 people have died from the rare form of the virus and the number of cases has risen to 600, but that there is little risk the outbreak would rise to the level of a pandemic.
The team canceled a planned three-day training camp and farewell celebration in the country’s capital of Kinshasa. All of the players and the head coach are not currently in the country—most of them are in France, while others are on English Premier League squads—and remaining team staffers “are leaving in the next hours,” a team spokesperson told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is in Group K with Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan, and has matches scheduled in Houston; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Atlanta. The federation is also setting up base camp in Houston at SaberCats Stadium.
“We’re working to get them into the same protocol for testing and isolation that American citizen returnees and legal permanent residents would be subject to,” the State Department official told CNN.
The DRC is back in the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when it was called Zaire, and the team infamously interfered with a free kick to avoid losing 4–0 to Brazil. Fans erupted in celebration in Kinshasa when the DRC qualified for the tournament in March through FIFA’s intercontinental playoff.
The U.S. Embassies in the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan have all temporarily paused visa services.
“The United States is well prepared to welcome legitimate travelers from around the globe for the largest and greatest FIFA World Cup in history while upholding the highest standards for U.S. national security, public health, and safety,” a spokesperson for the State Department said in an email to Front Office Sports. The spokesperson did not immediately answer questions about fans, players, and staff.
Mexico’s health ministry also released an advisory for travelers to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda in light of the Bundibugyo outbreak, but the announcement did not ban travelers from those countries. Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry did not respond to questions from FOS about players, staff, or fans from the DRC.
FIFA has said that is in “close communication” with the federation and public health agencies about the outbreak
The president of Houston’s World Cup host committee told USA Today on Tuesday that “there are no change in plans” and the team is set to arrive on June 11. The team has friendlies in Belgium on June 3 against Denmark and in Spain against Chile on June 9.
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