Next week’s international friendly between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile in Spain has been canceled after authorities raised health concerns about an Ebola outbreak in Congo.
La Linea de la Concepcion Mayor Juan Franco signed a decree on June 9 preventing the games from going ahead as planned.
The decision was described as a “precautionary measure” and was made following recommendations from Andalusia’s regional health service and the municipality’s medical department.
“The report by the director of health for the mayor of La Linea strongly recommends holding the games, taking into account the possible health risks,” Franco said.
As both countries continue their preparations for the World Cup, today’s match was scheduled to be held in La Linea, a coastal resort with a population of about 65,000 in Cadiz province, close to the border with Gibraltar.
DR Congo are currently stationed in Belgium after canceling a pre-tournament training camp scheduled for the capital Kinshasa due to an Ebola outbreak in eastern Belgium.
BBC Sport understands that none of the DRC players playing for foreign clubs have recently visited their home country, but some support staff and fans have.
DR Congo are scheduled to play Denmark in a friendly in Liège on Wednesday.
In response to the Ebola outbreak, the U.S. public health agency has banned the entry of non-Americans who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan in the past 21 days.
The outbreak in eastern DR Congo is caused by a rare strain of Ebola known as Bundibugyo.
There is currently no vaccine for this species and the World Health Organization (WHO) has said it could take up to nine months for a vaccine to be ready.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, which has qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1974, plans to be based in Houston for the duration of the tournament, where it will begin its Group K match against Portugal on June 17.
Afterwards, they will move to Guadalajara, Mexico to face Colombia, and then return to the United States to face Uzbekistan in Atlanta.
