FIFA extends Jonathan Bukabakwa's ban to 2048 and fines Congolese federation

FIFA has extended Congolese coach Jonathan Bukabakwa's football ban by five years, taking it to 2048, after he continued coaching young players while suspended, the Guardian reported. The governing body also imposed an additional $15,000 fine. His original 20-year ban, issued in 2023, concerned the sexual abuse of a minor.

The latest disciplinary action also covers the organisations responsible for enforcing that suspension. FIFA's ethics committee fined the Congolese Association Football Federation, known as Fecofa, and Racing Club Baki $50,000 each. According to the FIFA statement cited by the Guardian, the federation, club and coach failed to comply with the committee's decision of 18 October 2023.

Fecofa must also establish a programme covering education, compliance and monitoring for federation officials, affiliated clubs and registered members. That requirement accompanies the financial penalties and addresses enforcement across the national football structure. Racing Club Baki was previously called Esperanto FC, the club identified in the Guardian's investigation into Bukabakwa's continued involvement with young players.

The newspaper reported in August that video showed Bukabakwa coaching youngsters at Esperanto in Kinshasa's Limete district. Local sources told its reporters that he had regularly led players on a school field. The Guardian also reported that authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had convicted him of sexually abusing minors and that he left prison last year.

Bukabakwa did not deny that he had continued coaching young players, according to the newspaper. He maintained that FIFA had not informed him of the ban, saying he had neither been questioned nor received communications from the governing body. He has denied the allegations against him. FIFA's new sanctions concern non-compliance with the existing disciplinary decision.

Fecofa had provisionally suspended Bukabakwa in November 2022 following media reports about alleged abuse. Other coaches were also provisionally suspended, although some investigations produced insufficient evidence for further action. Federation president Véron Mosengo-Omba, elected in May, has promised to revisit earlier cases after re-establishing a disciplinary committee. Fecofa had been run by a FIFA-appointed normalisation committee from 2023 until his election.