A football coach in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who received a 20-year Fifa ban for sexually abusing a minor has reportedly continued coaching young players in Kinshasa. The case raises concerns about whether Fifa’s disciplinary sanctions are being communicated and enforced effectively at local level, despite its stated zero-tolerance approach to abuse.

Jonathan Bukabakwa was banned in March 2023 and fined 100,000 Swiss francs following a Fifa investigation; he had also been convicted in the DRC and was released from prison last year. Videos and local sources reportedly show him coaching at Esperanto in Limete, while Bukabakwa denies the allegations and says he was never told of the ban. Fecofa’s president, Véron Mosengo-Omba, has summoned Bukabakwa and Esperanto’s president, and says the federation will act once its disciplinary structures are restored.