Democratic Republic of Congo's pre-World Cup friendly relocated due to Ebola concerns

The Democratic Republic of Congo's World Cup preparations have been marred by disruptions stemming from concerns over the Ebola outbreak, and the team suffered a 2–1 loss to Chile in a warm-up match held behind closed doors in France on Tuesday.

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This friendly match was initially slated to take place in a city in southern Spain, but the mayor's refusal to host the event due to virus concerns led to a change of venue, with Orleans ultimately serving as the host city without spectators.

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The World Health Organization's declaration of an international health emergency on May 15, in response to the Ebola outbreak in northeastern DR Congo, has had a significant impact on the team's plans, including the cancellation of a pre-World Cup training camp at home last month.

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DR Congo is set to make their first World Cup appearance since 1974, when they competed under the name Zaire, and will be part of Group K, which also features Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan.

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The Group K matches will be staged in the United States and Mexico, and while the US has imposed a ban on non-Americans who have been in DR Congo in the previous 21 days from visiting due to the outbreak, the team is not expected to be affected by this ban.

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The reason the team is unlikely to be impacted by the ban is that they have been training in Europe for several weeks, which exempts them from the restrictions imposed by the US in response to the Ebola outbreak.