Prospects for peace and World Cup lift mood in DR Congo

DW

These are busy times for football in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The women's team played in the African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) for the first time since 2012 while the men are currently top of their qualification group for the 2026 World Cup, putting them on course for a first appearance on the global stage since 1974.

Off the pitch, there is also encouraging news. If a peace deal that was signed in June between the country and neighboring Rwanda holds, enduring violence could recede and citizens could have a fresh chance to play or watch sport.

The eastern region of the 11th biggest country in the world has been dogged by violence for the past 30 years, which has, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, resulted in the deaths of approximately six million people. Fighting escalated earlier this year as M23, a rebel paramilitary group that, according to the Congo and the United Nations, is backed by Rwanda, made inroads against the Congolese army.

Details of the peace plan, brokered by the United States, may be currently vague with concerns over whether it can hold and the low levels of trust between the two parties, but the prospect of stability is a welcome one.

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If the fighting stops, football can resume all over the country.

"A peace deal needs to be sorted because a number of the clubs that are based in the east of the country have not been able to play as a result of the recent conflict and invasion," Guy Burton, an international research analyst on conflict and peace, told DW.

"Ultimately for the game to flourish, you need to have stability, you need to have peace. When war is happening, the priority is just to survive."

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