The Leopards earned their place in the March intercontinental play-offs after edging Nigeria 4-3 on penalties in last month’s CAF Playoffs final staged in Morocco.
Sebastien Desabre’s men are now set to face the winner of the New Caledonia vs. Jamaica tie, with the victor advancing to Group K alongside Portugal, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.
However, the NFF claimed they formally lodged a complaint with the football ruling body, challenging the eligibility of several DR Congo players who reportedly changed nationalities without proper clearance.
"There are players that got theirs (passport) in just two or three months. So, that is to us what we consider as a breach of that regulation and that was why we submitted that (petition), " NFF General Secretary Sanusi Mohammed told the media.
"The Congolese law says you cannot have dual nationality. Wan-Bissaka has a European passport and there were so many of them that have European passports.
"Some of them French passports, some of them Dutch passports. So, the rules are very clear. We cannot say anything now, but we have submitted our (petition).
"FIFA regulation states once you have a passport of your country, you are eligible but our contention is FIFA was deceived into clearing them.
"On the basis of what was presented to FIFA, it was on that basis that FIFA cleared them but we are saying it was fraudulent. That is all."
Per Flashscore.com findings, at least nine players were flagged as ineligible, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, and Arthur Masuaku.
Cameroon had earlier raised similar concerns about European-born players representing DR Congo, but the Congolese dismissed the allegations as unfounded.
Now, Nigeria’s petition could trigger a review that might have major consequences for the Leopards’ World Cup aspirations.
Meanwhile, the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) has dismissed the NFF’s protest, describing it as an attempt to succeed through the ‘back door’ and tagging Nigeria a bad loser.
Under DR Congo law, dual citizenship is generally not recognised, meaning players who hold or recently held foreign passports may technically be ineligible to represent the country.
