A player from the World Cup bound Cape Verde national team is being investigated by police over an alleged sex attack in Auckland.
The alleged incident took place during the FIFA Series in March, a tournament that includes New Zealand, Finland, Chile and Cape Verde.
According to reports, the attack allegedly took place at the Cape Verde team hotel shortly after their match against Chile at Eden Park on Friday, March 27.
The complaint involves a player who is part of the Cape Verde national team according to the New Zealand Herald.
It is understood that FIFA is making their own enquiries into the incident having only been alerted to the alleged attack in the months following.
Police are currently seeking CCTV footage from the hotel in order to support their investigation into the matter.
A Cape Verde player is under investigation following alleged sex attack at team hotel
The alleged attack took place at the team hotel following the side’s 4-2 loss to Chile in March 2026
‘Police can confirm an allegation is under investigation, reported to us on April 10, 2026, in central Auckland. We are unable to comment further at this time,’ New Zealand police responded to the Herald.
Beyond their intention to make initial enquiries around the alleged incident, FIFA have said they have no official comment to make at this time.
New Zealand football have also confirmed that they are unable to comment on the alleged incident that took place in March.
Cape Verde’s squad arrived in New Zealand on March 22 and endured somewhat of a mixed time at the FIFA series.
They lost their opening tie 4-2 to Chile on March 27 – the night of the alleged attack – before beating Finland on penalties.
The FIFA Series is an initiative from football’s governing body to have teams from different confederations play meaningful matches.
The one hosted in New Zealand was one of nine tournaments played at the same time around the world.
Australia also hosted their own tournament where they took on Cameroon, China and the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup, Curacao.
‘The FIFA Series 2026 brings together national teams with a wide range of competitive profiles, reinforcing its development-driven design,’ said a statement at the time of its launch.
‘This diversity reflects FIFA’s commitment to creating meaningful international bouts for representative teams of member associations at all stages of development.’
The Blue Sharks will feature at their first ever World Cup when the tournament kicks off next month.
They qualified back in October after beating Eswatini 3-0 and topping their qualifying group.
That makes them the second-smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup with only Curacao, who also qualified for this summer’s tournament, smaller.
The archipelago, located off the coast of Senegal in West Africa has a population of just 525,000.
They have been handed the daunting task of facing Spain and Uruguay, with Saudi Arabia rounding out Group H.
