Cape Verde Player Under Investigation in New Zealand Following FIFA Series

Police investigating alleged sexual assault by Cape Verde player in Auckland 

An allegation reported to New Zealand Police on April 10, 2026, is under investigation. The Cape Verde football federation and FIFA have not commented on the case.

The Cape Verde football federation and FIFA have declined to comment on a police investigation into an allegation involving a player during the FIFA Series in March...

A member of the Cape Verde national team is being investigated in New Zealand following an allegation of sexual assault during the team’s FIFA Series trip in March.

According to Michael Burgess of the New Zealand Herald, the unnamed player is accused of raping a person at the team’s Auckland hotel on March 27, hours after Cape Verde’s 4-2 defeat to Chile at Eden Park.

New Zealand Police said “an allegation is under investigation” after it was reported to them on April 10, 2026, in central Auckland, and declined to provide further details, according to the Herald.

Burgess also reported that the Cape Verde player involved is expected to be included in the squad for the country’s first FIFA World Cup next month.

A source close to the complainant told the New Zealand Herald that they have been “struggling to cope” since the incident.

When contacted by the New Zealand Herald, FIFA said it was unaware of the matter and declined to comment on whether it would open its own investigation, stating it was “way too early” for that. The football federations of both New Zealand and Cape Verde also declined to comment. FIFA added that it had reached out to the New Zealand FA, which hosted the FIFA Series.

Cape Verde secured qualification for their first FIFA World Cup by finishing top of a group that included Cameroon, Libya, Angola, Mauritius, and eSwatini.