The Super Eagles of Nigeria are considering cancelling their friendly against DR Congo due to fears of contracting the Ebola virus.
Nigeria national team are due to host DR Congo in a friendly on May 28 in Port Harcourt, in the south of Nigeria, ahead of next month’s World Cup.
An outbreak of the Ebola disease has been confirmed in DR Congo, the ninth time the disease has been recorded in the country since the 1970s, and has killed 17 people.
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s health ministry ordered measures to be implemented for screening visitors from neighbouring countries.
One official at the Nigerian Football Federation said: ‘We will stop the game on medical advice because we cannot risk any lives.
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‘But in the meantime, the visiting team will be fully screened on arrival in the country for the game. Both CAF and FIFA have been informed of the situation.’
Nigeria does not share a land border with DR Congo and is the only country in west Africa with a mobile laboratory for haemorrhagic fevers, which is funded by the European Union.
Just seven people died of Ebola in Nigeria in 2014 out of 19 confirmed cases, whereas the disease killed over 11,000 elsewhere in west Africa, and the country was commended for its response to the disease.
Matches against the most endangered nations such as Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were all cancelled at the time and fans who attended Nigeria’s match against DR Congo that year underwent temperature checks.
Nigeria travel to England the week after facing DR Congo to play at Wembley on June 2 in another World Cup warm-up clash.
