Police in New Zealand are investigating an alleged incident involving a footballer from World Cup-bound national team Cape Verde during the FIFA Series in Auckland in March.
“New Zealand Police can confirm an allegation is under investigation, reported to us on 10 April 2026 in central Auckland,” read a statement to The Athletic.
The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported that the complaint referred to an alleged ‘sex attack … after a match between Cape Verde and Chile at Eden Park on Friday, March 27 (and) … involves a Cape Verde player’.
New Zealand Football (NZF), which organised the Auckland-based FIFA Series, told The Athletic that it was aware of “allegations relating to a player from Cape Verde and their actions while visiting Auckland” following reports in the media but said it was yet to be contacted by police.
The Cape Verdean Football Federation (FCF) have been contacted for comment by The Athletic.
The alleged incident took place during March’s FIFA Series — a collection of four-team international friendly tournaments held across eight different countries.
New Zealand hosted Cape Verde, Finland and Chile in one of the tournaments, designed by world football’s governing body to allow teams from different federations to face one another. Each team only played two of the other nations, with Cape Verde losing 4-2 to Chile and drawing 1-1 with Finland.
FIFA has indicated it would be in contact with NZF over the alleged incident.
Sources with knowledge of the tournament’s arrangements, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to do so publicly, said the member association of the FIFA Series host country – in this case New Zealand – is responsible for the organisation and operations of the tournament, including security and safety matters.
FIFA has in place a reporting mechanism to report any concerns and potential cases of wrongdoing, but any outcomes will be determined by the local law-enforcement agency.
Island-nation Cape Verde will be appearing at the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history. They secured automatic qualification in October after finishing top of Group D in African qualifying, ahead of Cameroon, Libya, Angola, Mauritius and Eswatini.