Friendlies: Congo and DR Congo to stay put during March international break
Congo and DR Congo will not play any friendlies during the March international break, for different reasons.
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Was the 2023 AFCON only a brief bright spell for DR Congo supporters? After a campaign in Ivory Coast that ended with an encouraging 4th-place finish, Leopards fans were hoping to see their team build on the new momentum generated by Sébastien Desabre. And they hoped to do so as early as this March international break, with friendlies on the horizon to help them confirm their return to the big time. A training camp in Turkey had even been planned with that in mind, with the aim of integrating new players. But it was eventually cancelled by the head coach. With no agreement reached with the Congolese sports ministry, the staff had to give it up.
Desabre cancels Turkey training camp
“The coach's idea was not to play friendlies during this camp. The aim was to review the squad and re-energise the team. It was also planned to bring in a few home-based players and those playing in Africa, along with the U20s and U21s who took part in the camp in Tunisia ”, explained DR Congo team manager Dodo Landu, before lamenting: “The coach decided to cancel this camp because of a lack of agreement with the government.”
Read more on this subject: Sébastien Desabre: “Unless I'm asked to leave... ”
It was a drastic decision by the French coach who, according to information from Sport News Africa, failed to secure the financial guarantees and the backing of his superiors for this Turkey camp. The cost of a camp with such a large delegation and no match to go with it did not go down well at the ministry, which did not approve the budget. As a result, there should be no get-together, even in the DRC, for the Leopards, who will remain with their respective clubs.
Fecofoot undone by its own silence
On the other side of the river, the situation is the same for Congo's Red Devils, who will also stay with their clubs. The Congolese Football Federation did not manage to finalise a single friendly, despite approaches. Information gathered by Sport News Africa points to expressions of interest in organising friendlies from countries such as Gabon and Benin. These were made while the 2023 AFCON was in full swing. But Fecofoot officials, who were in Ivory Coast at the time, did not follow up in time.
By the time they had returned from the AFCON and got down to looking for possible opponents, the interested national teams had meanwhile finalised their schedules for this March international break, leaving Congo without a game. It is likely to leave supporters grumbling and disappointed once again, and they are unlikely to see their team in action before the June break and the resumption of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.