Jonathan Bukabakwa, a coach in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who was banned from football for 20 years by Fifa in March 2023 for sexual abuse of a minor, is reportedly continuing to coach young players. Mr Bukabakwa, known as Messi, was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs following a Fifa investigation that found him guilty of sexual abuse.
He had previously been convicted of similar offences by authorities in the DRC but was released from prison last year. The Guardian reported seeing videos of Mr Bukabakwa coaching young players at Esperanto, a club in Kinshasa, and local sources confirmed he has been regularly seen coaching at a school field.
When contacted, Mr Bukabakwa did not deny continuing to coach and claimed he was unaware of the Fifa ban, stating, "They never told me anything." He has denied the allegations. Fifa did not respond to a request for comment from The Guardian.
The president of the Congolese Association Football Federation (Fecofa), Véron Mosengo-Omba, has reportedly summoned Mr Bukabakwa and the president of Esperanto to a meeting on Monday. Mr Mosengo-Omba stated, "We have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour."