Congo FA President Blaise Mayolas handed life prison sentence over $1.3m corruption scandal

The president of the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT), Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas, has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a court found him guilty of multiple financial crimes linked to the administration of the country’s football body.

The ruling was delivered on Tuesday in Mayolas’ absence. The court convicted him of money laundering, embezzlement and forgery following a high-profile investigation into the federation’s finances.

Mayolas, who assumed office as FECOFOOT president in 2018, had been accused of diverting about $1.3 million in funds provided by FIFA. Prosecutors alleged that nearly $500,000 earmarked for the country’s women’s national team was siphoned off through a network of shell companies.

The allegations intensified in March last year when clubs competing in the Congolese Women’s Championship filed a declaration with the Central Intelligence and Documentation Office, a department under the Ministry of the Interior. In the document, the clubs claimed that only $20,000 of the $500,000 allocated by FIFA to FECOFOOT in 2021 as part of its Covid-19 relief programme was actually distributed.

The court also handed life sentences to Mayolas’ wife and son, both of whom were implicated in the scheme.

Several other senior officials within the federation were also convicted. FECOFOOT’s general secretary, Badji Mombo Wantete, and the treasurer, Raoul Kanda, were each sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of involvement in the financial irregularities.

Prosecutors said the case was built on an eight-month investigation that examined financial statements, bank records and the federation’s internal administrative and accounting systems.

The verdict comes at a time when the DR Congo national football team is preparing for a crucial fixture. The Leopards are scheduled to play their final inter-confederation playoff match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on March 31 at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, with a place at the global tournament at stake.