La Linea de la Concepcion’s mayor Juan Franco signed a decree on June 2 banning the Democratic Republic of Congo's pre-World Cup friendly against Chile scheduled for June 9 due to Ebola outbreak concerns [1, 2, 3]. Franco said, "I have signed the decree banning the holding of the June 9 match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile," citing a health report advising against hosting the game because of potential risks [1, 2].

The Ebola outbreak affecting eastern DR Congo involves a rare Bundibugyo strain with no current vaccine available. The World Health Organization estimates up to nine months before a vaccine is ready [1, 4, 5]. As of early June, 344 confirmed Ebola cases and 60 deaths have been reported in the region [6, 4].

La Linea de la Concepcion, a Spanish border town with a population of approximately 65,000, followed health recommendations from Andalusian regional authorities and local medical officials in taking the precautionary step [1, 2, 3]. The mayor’s decision came alongside a May 22 US mandate requiring 21-day isolation for travelers arriving from DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan amid concerns about the outbreak [1, 2, 3, 5].

DR Congo’s national team has been training in Belgium, with nearly all players and staff based in Europe and compliant with health and regulatory protocols [7, 6, 8, 4, 5]. The team canceled a pre-tournament training camp in Kinshasa because of the outbreak and now focuses on preparing in Belgium [1, 2, 3, 5].

On June 3, DR Congo played a 0-0 friendly against Denmark in Liege, Belgium [1, 7, 6]. Following the cancellation in Spain, the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) is in talks with Spanish football authorities to find an alternative venue or solution for the Chile match to proceed [7, 6, 8, 4]. Coach Sebastien Desabre expressed confidence, saying, "We want to play the game and now we are looking for an alternative which we are confident we will find, even if we have to play the game behind closed doors." He added, "The only thing I can say is that we’re used to adapting, and whatever happens, we’ll have no problem adapting to all these situations" [7, 6, 5].

DR Congo plans to base itself in Houston, USA for the World Cup, opening Group K against Portugal on June 17, then facing Colombia in Guadalajara on June 23 and Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 27 [1, 7, 2, 8, 4, 3].