The Democratic Republic of Congo have asked Fifa to refund the cost of 2026 World Cup tickets bought by fans who are now unable to enter the United States because of Ebola-related travel restrictions.

The Leopards are returning to football’s biggest stage for the first time since 1974, but the public health emergency declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 16 May is threatening to stop supporters from travelling to the US.

Officials say there are more than 900 suspected cases of Ebola in central and East Africa, and 223 suspected deaths, since the outbreak was declared.

The vast majority of those cases and fatalities have been in DR Congo, and the US embassy in the capital Kinshasa has suspended visa services.

While the WHO has not advised on imposing travel restrictions, the US has barred entry from non-Americans who have been in DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.

On Tuesday, co-hosts Canada followed suit, imposing a 90-day restriction on Congolese nationals travelling from their homeland. This would rule out any supporters hoping to reach Toronto for a potential second round game, should the team finish as runners-up in Group K.

“We asked Fifa if this is possible to take this into consideration, because the tickets are little bit expensive,” Veron Mosengo-Omba, the president of DR Congo’s football federation (Fecofa), told BBC Sport Africa.

“They are punished because they cannot get [in to the US] to see the World Cup to support their team.

“We don’t want our supporters who love football, who love the World Cup, to lose everything.”