An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease
Les Léopards (The Leopards)
Two-time African champions. DR Congo open qualifying against Equatorial Guinea on 24 September 2026.
Road to AFCON 2027
Group E
DR Congo
Current status: Qualifying
The top two in the group qualify for the finals. Six matches: home and away against each opponent.
No qualifier has been played yet — the table appears here after the first matchday.
Checked 21 September 2026 against CAF’s draw and fixture list.CAF fixtures
The number that defines DR Congo
9
Ndaye Mulamba’s goals at AFCON 1974
Still the record for a single tournament, set as Zaire won their second title in Egypt.
Iconic moment · 1968
Final · Ethiopia 1968, Addis Ababa
Congo-Kinshasa had lost 2–1 to Ghana in the group stage. In the final they beat them 1–0 with Pierre Kalala’s goal in the 66th minute, and Kazadi Mwamba was named the tournament’s best player.
2025
DR Congo v Benin — AFCON 2025 highlights
Théo Bongonda’s winner in Rabat starts an unbeaten Group D campaign.
Official highlights from CAF TV, embedded from YouTube. Travel Ease hosts no footage and is not a CAF partner; the video loads only when you press play.
Ready for the next chapter?
Tell us where you are coming from and when you want to travel. We plan the trip around DR Congo’s matches as soon as CAF confirms where they play.
See DR Congo travel packagesWe contact you first when DR Congo’s fixtures are fixed and travel opens. No payment.
The team now
Forward · Newcastle United
Scored DR Congo’s first World Cup goal, against Portugal in June 2026, then two more in the 3–1 win over Uzbekistan that took the Leopards into the knockout rounds.
Defender · AJ Auxerre
His extra-time goal against Jamaica in the March 2026 intercontinental play-off sent DR Congo to their first World Cup since 1974.
Midfielder · Alanyaspor
Scored DR Congo’s goal in the 2023 round-of-16 tie with Egypt that ended in the 8–7 shoot-out win, and was top scorer in AFCON 2025 qualifying with two goals.
From the squad named on 11 September 2026 for Equatorial Guinea (24 Sep, Kinshasa) and Zimbabwe (28 Sep, Harare) in qualifying, then two friendlies with Uganda (2 and 5 Oct). Clubs as at that announcement.
AFCON 2027 packages
Follow the Les Léopards to East Africa. Each trip works from any host country, so it holds whichever group DR Congo land in.
Fan5 nightsAny host country
A short trip built around a single fixture
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter8 nightsAny host country
Two fixtures, one trip
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter14 nightsAny host country
Travel with your side through the rounds
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Flights, hotels and match-day transport are quoted for your departure city — airlines and hotels have not released AFCON-period rates, so we price your exact trip rather than publish a guess.
Host countries
Explore the three host nations while we wait for DR Congo’s official finals journey to be determined.
Safari country and East Africa’s busiest gateway
Kenya combines the region’s most connected international airport with the Maasai Mara and the Kenyan coast, making it the natural base for supporters who want football and safari in one trip.
Plan my tripZanzibar, Serengeti and the Indian Ocean
Tanzania offers the strongest holiday extension of the three hosts — Zanzibar’s beaches and the northern safari circuit are both within easy reach of the mainland gateways.
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The source of the Nile and gorilla country
Uganda is the most compact of the three hosts, with Entebbe close to Kampala and adventure travel — rafting at Jinja, gorilla trekking in the southwest — within reach of a tournament trip.
Plan my tripTickets are issued only through CAF’s authorised official ticketing. Travel Ease is not a ticket seller — we help you follow official DR Congo ticket updates and build your journey around confirmed matches.
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SAFARI3 daysMaasai Mara
Kenya’s best-known reserve, reachable by light aircraft or road from Nairobi between match days.
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CITY1 dayNairobi
The national park on the city edge, the elephant orphanage and Karen — a full day without leaving Nairobi.
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BEACH4 daysZanzibar
The classic post-tournament wind-down: white sand, warm water and Stone Town, a short hop from Dar es Salaam.
Add to my tripThe story behind the shirt
The full story, the title years, the moments, the legends and every tournament — researched from CAF and dated where it can change.
DR Congo’s AFCON legacy
Both of DR Congo’s Africa Cup of Nations titles were won under names the country no longer uses. As Congo-Kinshasa they beat Ghana 1–0 in the 1968 final in Addis Ababa, Pierre Kalala scoring in the 66th minute and Kazadi Mwamba named player of the tournament. Six years later, as Zaire, they needed two finals in Cairo to beat Zambia: 2–2 after extra time, then 2–0 in a replay 48 hours later, both goals from Ndaye Mulamba.
Ndaye’s nine goals at that 1974 tournament are still the most anyone has scored at a single AFCON, and his ten in all remain a Congolese record at the finals. The decades since have brought near-misses rather than trophies: third place in 1998 and 2015, both settled by shoot-outs in the play-off, and a run to the last four in Côte d’Ivoire in 2023 that included an 8–7 shoot-out win over Egypt, sealed by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi’s own kick.
Ndaye’s nine goals at that 1974 tournament are still the most anyone has scored at a single AFCON, and his ten in all remain a Congolese record at the finals. The decades since have brought near-misses rather than trophies: third place in 1998 and 2015, both settled by shoot-outs in the play-off, and a run to the last four in Côte d’Ivoire in 2023 that included an 8–7 shoot-out win over Egypt, sealed by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi’s own kick.
Under Sébastien Desabre, in charge since 2022, the Leopards have become hard to remove early. Morocco 2025 was their fifth successive finals with a place in the knockout stage — they went through Group D unbeaten before Algeria won the last-16 tie in extra time — and in 2026 the same core ended a 52-year wait for a World Cup, then got past the group stage there for the first time.
Qualifying for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda starts at home: DR Congo host Equatorial Guinea in Kinshasa on 24 September 2026, then visit Zimbabwe in Harare four days later. Sierra Leone complete Group E, and the top two qualify.
2 titles
Champions as Congo-Kinshasa
Ghana beaten 1–0 in Addis Ababa.
Champions as Zaire
A replayed final and Ndaye’s nine goals.
Tap a year for the story of that title.
1965
First finals
Out in the first round in Tunisia.
1968
Champions as Congo-Kinshasa
Ghana beaten 1–0 in Addis Ababa.
1974
Champions as Zaire
A replayed final and Ndaye’s nine goals.
1998
Third place
4–4 with hosts Burkina Faso, then won on penalties.
2015
Third place
A second bronze, again from a shoot-out.
2023
Fourth place
Egypt beaten 8–7 on penalties on the way.
2025
Round of 16
Unbeaten group, out to Algeria after extra time.
Iconic moments
1974
Final and replay · Egypt 1974, Cairo
Zaire and Zambia drew 2–2 after extra time in the only AFCON final ever to go to a replay. Forty-eight hours later Ndaye Mulamba scored both goals in a 2–0 win, taking his tournament total to nine.
2024
Round of 16 · Côte d’Ivoire 2023, San Pedro
Meschack Elia’s header put DR Congo ahead against Egypt and the tie finished 1–1 after extra time. The shoot-out ran to 8–7, with goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi converting the decisive kick; the Leopards then beat Guinea 3–1 to reach the semi-finals.
AFCON legends
1970s
The scorer who won the 1974 title and still owns the tournament’s single-edition record.
Nine goals at Egypt 1974, both goals of the final replay among them, and ten at the finals in all — more than any other DR Congo player.
1960s
The standout player of DR Congo’s first title.
Named player of the tournament at AFCON 1968.
1960s
Scorer of the goal that won the 1968 final.
Beat Ghana with the only goal of the final in Addis Ababa, in the 66th minute.
9
Most goals at a single AFCON
Ndaye Mulamba, Egypt 1974
1974
The only AFCON final replayed
Zaire 2–2 Zambia after extra time, then 2–0 two days later
10
DR Congo’s top scorer at the finals
Ndaye Mulamba
AFCON finals tournaments only — qualifiers are not included.
Statistics
Finals tournaments through Côte d’Ivoire 2023. Qualifiers not included.
DR Congo have reached the knockout stage at five successive finals — 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025 — their longest such run.
Both of DR Congo’s third places were won in shoot-outs: the 1998 play-off with hosts Burkina Faso finished 4–4 before the Leopards won on penalties.
At Côte d’Ivoire 2023, five of DR Congo’s seven matches ended in draws.
The year of the second AFCON title, 1974, was also the year of DR Congo’s first World Cup. Their second came 52 years later, in 2026.
Two — in 1968, as Congo-Kinshasa, and in 1974, as Zaire. They have also finished third twice, in 1998 and 2015.
In 1974 in Egypt, beating Zambia 2–0 in a replayed final after the first match finished 2–2 after extra time.
DR Congo’s Ndaye Mulamba, with nine goals at the 1974 tournament. His ten goals at the finals are also a DR Congo record.
They reached the round of 16 unbeaten in Group D — beating Benin 1–0 and Botswana 3–0 and drawing 1–1 with Senegal — then lost 1–0 to Algeria after extra time.
Not yet. Qualifying begins on 24 September 2026. DR Congo are in Group E with Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe; the top two qualify.
Sébastien Desabre, in charge since 2022. He led DR Congo to the AFCON 2023 semi-finals and to the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
Sources · checked 21 September 2026
Historical figures cover AFCON finals tournaments only. Qualification, squads and rankings change — each is dated where it appears.
AFCON 2027
Travel to the Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — arranged from anywhere in Africa and the diaspora.
Travel Ease Company is an independent travel agency. We are not an official CAF or AFCON partner, sponsor, supplier or ticketing agent, and we are not affiliated with the Confédération Africaine de Football.
Match tickets. Tickets are purchased through CAF’s official ticketing channel. Travel Ease provides ticket-purchase assistance. Tickets are not included in any package unless your written quotation specifically states otherwise.
Fixtures and venues. Fixtures, host cities and qualification are determined and published by CAF. We show them only once officially confirmed.
Entry requirements. These are set by the immigration authorities of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and depend on your passport. Always verify against an official government source.
AFCON and CAF are trademarks of their respective owners, used here only to describe the tournament our travel services relate to.
Travel Ease is an independent travel company, not affiliated with CAF. Match tickets are sold only through CAF’s official channel.
An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease Company
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