Union president Herita Ilunga: « All parties in DR Congo must unite to save our football »

• Professional leagues in DR Congo have been at a standstill for four months
• Union President Herita Ilunga, a former defender with Saint-Etienne and West Ham, provides an overview of the situation
• « The union is in contact with the players as regularly as possible, » says Ilunga

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the professional leagues have been at a standstill for four months now. The situation is dramatic in more ways than one, particularly for players whose contracts are no longer honoured, while there is nothing to suggest that it can return to normal easily.

For Herita Ilunga, the president of the Union des Footballeurs du Congo (UFC) and former DR Congo captain, the time for a profound reform has come.

Herita, how do you reflect on the total stoppage of professional championships in DR Congo?

For many years now, the organisation of national championships in DR Congo has not been satisfactory, to put it mildly. Even if efforts have been made, since our elite clubs no longer play several competitions simultaneously it has become clear that the formula adopted in 2018, with one single championship organised by Linafoot (Ligue National de Football du Congo), is not economically viable.

DR Congo is huge [editor’s note: the eleventh largest country in the world]. It is expensive to travel within the country in conditions that are consistent with practice of a professional sport. If the championships have come to a halt, it is because the majority of clubs can no longer afford the expenses incurred by travel. Some teams were even more frustrated because, after having made great financial efforts, they arrived at stadiums for the match to find out that another event was planned – so they had to turn back. It’s unbelievable, but true.