Football’s governing body in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC) has changed eligibility rules for its presidential elections, allowing a university friend of Gianni Infantino to stand.

Véron Mosengo-Omba, who was at university with the Fifa president in Switzerland, is a former general secretary of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), and confirmed his candidacy to be president of the DRC’s football federation, Fecofa, this week.

The election was due to take place on 11 April but has been postponed until next month, with the delay understood to have been because Mosengo-Omba – who surrendered his passport when he left the DRC to study in Europe aged 18 and is a Swiss citizen – only has a diplomatic Congolese passport.

Under Fecofa’s previous statutes he would not have been permitted to stand. However, an amendment allowing any Congolese individual who has previously been involved in football administration to run has been passed. That is expected to be ratified by an electoral commission review in the coming days to allow the 66-year-old, who also previously served as Fifa’s chief member associations officer, to stand.

Asked by the Guardian if the changes had been made to accommodate Mosengo-Omba, a Fecofa spokesperson refused to comment. Mosengo-Omba confirmed he still uses his diplomatic passport but did not respond to a question about whether it had hindered his candidacy.

“Mosengo-Omba does not hold Congolese nationality, only a diplomatic passport; he has never completed the procedures to obtain full Congolese citizenship in all these years, and now … he wants to do so and take over the presidency of our football federation? This is unacceptable,” said Luc Mangala, who is a leading football agent in the country. “Mosengo-Omba has already met with several voters, telling each one that he is the candidate of the president of the republic, Felix Tshisekedi.”

The Caf president, Patrice Motsepe, appeared to confirm this when his departure as general secretary was confirmed last month after a controversial tenure and in the wake of a disputed final of the 2026 African Cup of Nations. “He told me he has been asked by the DR Congo president to go and help with football development in that country,” said Motsepe.

When leaving Caf, Mosengo-Omba had said he was retiring to “devote myself to more personal projects”.

Mosengo-Omba became the ninth and final candidate to confirm he would stand on Monday and will be up against the former Blackburn and Monaco striker, Shabani Nonda, among others. He dismissed the claims regarding the election rule changes but acknowledged that having the support of Tshisekedi would be a “significant advantage” if he is elected.

“Government support is essential for developing sports infrastructure, in particular,” he told the Guardian. “My candidacy scares some because everyone knows precisely that my war horse is the fight against corruption and the misuse of funds intended for football. I have met great success at Caf in this fight, even if much remains to be done. And in DR Congo as elsewhere, there is work to be done.”

Mosengo-Omba was accused by some employees of creating a toxic environment during his time at Caf, although an investigation after staff complaints cleared him of any wrongdoing. Reports last month in the DRC alleged that presidents of the regional leagues were told by the country’s minister for sport, Didier Budimbu, that Mosengo-Omba “must be supported” when he was presented as the candidate endorsed by Tshisekedi at a meeting last month.

Budimbu described those claims as “completely unfounded” in a statement to the Guardian, adding “the individuals eligible to vote in these elections are neither known to me nor close to me”.

Despite the men’s team last month qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in more than half a century, Fecofa has been under a Fifa normalisation committee for almost three years in attempts to address “irregular, unhealthy, and deadlocked” governance, and for the organisation of new elections.

Mosengo-Omba promised in an interview with France 24 last week that he will turn Fecofa “into a paradise” if he is elected. “I served world football, then African football and now I plan to serve the country of my origin,” he said.