Democratic Republic of the Congo national football team
| Nickname(s) | The Leopards |
|---|---|
| Association | Fédération Congolaise de Football-Association (FECOFA) |
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) |
| Sub-confederation |
UNIFFAC (Central Africa) |
| Head coach | Florent Ibengé |
| Captain | Youssouf Mulumbu |
| Top scorer | Ndaye Mulamba (32) |
| Home stadium | Stade des Martyrs |
| FIFA code | COD |
| FIFA ranking | |
| Current | 41  (4 May 2017)
|
| Highest | 37 (February 2017) |
| Lowest | 133 (October 2011) |
| Elo ranking | |
| Current | 64 (30 April 2017)
|
| Highest | 20 (March 1974) |
| Lowest | 111 (September 2010) |
| First international | |
 Belgian Congo 3–2 Northern Rhodesia  (Belgian Congo; 1948) |
|
| Biggest win | |
 DR Congo 10–1 Zambia  (Kinshasa, Congo DR; 22 November 1969) |
|
| Biggest defeat | |
 Yugoslavia 9–0 Zaire  (Gelsenkirchen, West Germany; 18 June 1974) |
|
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1974) |
| Best result | Round 1, 1974 |
| Africa Cup of Nations | |
| Appearances | 15 (first in 1965) |
| Best result | Champions, 1968 and 1974 |
| African Nations Championship | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2009) |
| Best result | Champions, 2009 and 2016 |
The Democratic Republic of the Congo national football team (formerly known as Zaire, alternatively known as Congo-Kinshasa) is the national team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is controlled by the Fédération Congolaise de Football-Association (FECOFA). They are nicknamed the Leopards.
DR Congo have been ranked as high as 37 in the FIFA Rankings. As Zaire they were the first Sub-Saharan African team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup and twice won the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Fédération Congolaise de Football-Association (FECOFA) was founded in 1919 when the country was not independent. The team played their first game in 1948 as Belgian Congo against Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. The team recorded a 3–2 victory at home. DR Congo has been FIFA affiliated since 1962 and has been a member of CAF since 1963. The team's first official match was on the 11 April 1963, against Mauritania in the L'Amitié Tournament played in Dakar, Senegal. DR Congo won the match 6–0.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo had its first international success at the 1968 African Cup of Nations held in Ethiopia, beating Ghana 1–0 in the final. The team's biggest ever win came on 22 November 1969 when they recorded a 10–1 home victory against Zambia. Although a handful of Congolese players were playing in Europe (particularly Belgium) during these years, foreign-based players were seldom recalled for international duty; a rare exception was Julien Kialunda who represented Zaire (as the country was by then known) at the 1972 African Cup of Nations while playing for Anderlecht.
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