March 11 – Former Congolese Football Federation (Fecofoot) president Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a court in Brazzaville found him guilty of embezzling more than €1 million in funds provided by FIFA.
The 63-year-old, who did not attend the trial, was convicted by the Brazzaville Criminal Court on charges including money laundering, forgery and the use of forged documents, as well as the misappropriation of federation funds.
Mayolas’ conviction was the headline of a sweeping case where several of his associates were also convicted, including his son Lionel Mayolas, who received the same life sentence.
Fecofoot general secretary Badji Mombo Wantete and treasurer Raoul Kanda were also each handed five-year prison terms.
The court ruling found that Mayolas diverted €1.1 million that had been originally allocated to the federation by FIFA – including a $500,000 grant earmarked for women’s football that was awarded in 2020 as part of FIFA’s global COVID-19 relief programme.
Investigators pointed out that projects linked to the cash injection – fundamentally the creation of women’s leagues and improvements to football infrastructure – were never delivered.
The case brings another turbulent chapter to a federation that has spent the majority of post-covid life mired in governance disputes and political intervention.
In September 2024, the Congolese government removed Mayolas from his position, prompting FIFA to leap to his defence saying the statutes require the autonomy of the FA. In February 2025, FIFA suspended Fecofoot for “third-party interference” in the organisation’s affairs.
“Fecofoot is suspended with immediate effect due to third-party interference in the federation’s affairs, a particularly serious situation that contravenes Fecofoot’s obligations under FIFA statutes,” the governing body said at the time.
The suspension had immediate sporting consequences – Congo were forced to forfeit two World Cup qualification matches against Zambia and Tanzania before FIFA lifted the sanction in May last year.
FIFA defended Mayolas’ position as the legitimate federation president, insisting the government’s removal of him amounted to political interference in football administration.
The latest ruling in Brazzaville now casts a very different light on that dispute, closing a long-running saga that has left Congolese football facing both governance questions and sporting setbacks.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected].