Kinshasa, June 24th, 2025(CPA) – Lupopo and Mazembe, both from Lubumbashi, capital of Haut-Katanga province in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), played out a 1-1 draw at Lubumbashi’s Kibassa Maliba stadium on Tuesday in the 15th play-off round of the National Football League (Linafoot) championship. In the first half of this Lubumbashi derby, it was the Ravens who took the lead, Landjesi Nkhoma (12′) heading in a cross from Faveurdi Bongeli. The half-time whistle sounded with a narrow 1-0 scoreline. After the break, The “Cheminots” stepped up a gear and equalized through Papy Kokeleya’s free-kick (67′). After this equalizer, despite various attacks from both sides, nothing changed in terms of goals until the final whistle from the central referee. With this draw, Lupopo now have 32 points from 15 outings, putting them in second place, while Mazembe have 29 points from as many games played. Fishtail match between Maniema Union and Motema Pembe (2-0)
A view of the match between Motema Pembe and Maniema Union
In the other clash, played at the Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa, the country’s capital, AS Maniema Union of Kindu in Maniema, in the centre-east of the country, and Motema Pembe of Kinshasa, the capital, came to a stalemate after supporters of the Kinshasa club invaded the pitch on Tuesday as part of the 15th day of play-offs in the DRC’s 30th elite football championship. The match was brought to a halt after DC Motema Pembe supporters invaded the pitch to protest against Maniema Union’s second goal, scored by Jephté Kitambala (62′). The fans took to the pitch, chasing after the refereeing trio and breaking up some seats before the police intervened.
Before this second goal, considered to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, Maniema Union had led after Jeancy Mboma Kinda had opened the scoring (33rd). So it was with the match between the green and black club from Kindu and the Faucons from Kinshasa, with the final decision to be taken by the Linafoot management committee. At the start of the match, the two sides had 28 points from 14 outings. This is the second match to be interrupted, following that of the first day of the play-offs, between Les Aigles du Congo and AS V.Club (1-0), which was halted after Glody Kikwama Mujinga had opened the scoring for the Samouraïs. The capital’s Dauphins Noirs eventually lost by forfeit (0-3), and this penalty was accompanied by a fine of 12,000 US dollars.