Michael Burgess from the New Zealand Herald reported on Sunday that a player of the Cape Verdean national team, who remains anonymous, allegedly raped a person after the FIFA Series match against Chile on March 27th in Auckland. The incident allegedly took place at Cape Verde's training hotel hours after the team's 4-2 loss at Eden Park.
The New Zealand Police confirmed that "an allegation is under investigation, reported to us on April 10, 2026, in central Auckland. We are unable to comment further at this time," the Herald wrote.
According to Burgess, the Cape Verde player in question is set to be called up for the country's maiden FIFA World Cup next month.
The complainant has been "struggling to cope" following the incident, a source close to them told the New Zealand Herald.
When asked by the New Zealand newspaper, FIFA, which was allegedly unaware of the matter, refused to comment on the case, nor would it say whether it would start its own investigation, calling it "way too early" to do so. The football associations of New Zealand and Cape Verde also did not comment on the case, while FIFA said it had contacted the New Zealand FA, with it being the host member association of the FIFA Series.
Cape Verde qualified for their first-ever FIFA World Cup after topping a qualification group with Cameroon, Libya, Angola, Mauritius, and eSwatini.
At the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America, Cape Verde were drawn into Group F with Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.