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Why is DR Congo COD? Explaining country code of team making return at World Cup 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
DR Congo's return to the World Cup stage in 2026 was one of the more encapsulating storylines heading into the tournament.
The country is ending a 52-year absence from the World Cup, last qualifying in 1974 — a time gap significant enough that DR Congo was then playing under the country's previous name, Zaire.
However, as soccer fans now watch DR Congo return to the tournament, they may question why the country's official code appears as "COD" rather than "DRC."
Here's the background on why DR Congo's official country code is COD.
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Why is DR Congo COD?
"COD" is the official abbreviation for the Democratic Republic of Congo because it is derived from its local French name, Congo-Kinshasa, rather than the English name.
Because of that, COD is the country's official ISO alpha-3 code — and while some English soccer fans may expect "DRC" to be the abbreviation for "Democratic Republic of Congo," FIFA utilizes the international standards, also helping to distinguish the nation from an easily-confused neighbor: the Republic of the Congo (COG).
While the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo share a border and sound similar, DR Congo has a significantly larger population. The Republic of Congo has never qualified for a World Cup.
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Where is DR Congo?
DR Congo is in Central Africa, the second-largest country on the continent by land mass. It can be found just west of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, east of the Republic of Congo, south of the Central African Republic and South Sudan, and north of Angola and Zambia.
The country has an estimated population of 124 million people, making it the fourth-most populous African nation. French is the official and most widely spoken language in DR Congo.
DR Congo is making a long-awaited return to the World Cup stage in 2026, as the last time it qualified, in 1974, it was under the country's then-name Zaire and had just become the first Sub-Saharan African nation ever to qualify for the men’s World Cup.
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