The city of La Linea de la Concepcion in southern Spain, near the border with Gibraltar, is scheduled to host the match on June 9 at a stadium with a capacity of 10,000 people.
However, Mayor of La Linea, Juan Franco, said he was forced to postpone the match as a precautionary measure as recommended by the regional government's health agency.
Juan Franco confirmed: "I have signed a decree banning the organization of the match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile. The report of the head of health services of the La Linea town government has issued a decisive recommendation not to organize this match due to possible health risks," Mr. Franco said.
Previously, the Chilean team requested that the match take place without spectators.
The Democratic Republic of Congo participated in the World Cup for the first time since 1974 - when they participated under the name Zaire - but preparations were heavily affected after the Ebola epidemic broke out in the country.
In May 2026, they canceled the planned three-day training program and fan farewell in the capital Kinshasa due to a disease outbreak in the east of the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this an international public health emergency.
As of May 27, WHO said there were a total of 906 suspected cases and 223 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to a rare Ebola virus called Bundibugyo, which has also spread to Uganda.
Since canceling domestic preparation plans, the Democratic Republic of Congo team, which has been training in Belgium, is expected to play against Denmark in Liege on June 3.
Previously, US officials had requested the Congolese team to self-isolate for 21 days before being allowed to enter the US to participate in the World Cup, a tournament taking place from June 11 to July 19 co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
According to the schedule, the Congo team will start their 2026 World Cup campaign with a match against the Portuguese team on June 17 in Houston (USA). After that, they will successively meet the Colombian team on June 24 in Guadalajara, Mexico and Uzbekistan on June 28 in Atlanta, USA.
