The Algerian Football Federation has issued an apology to a Congolese super fan who has become one of the celebrities of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which is now taking place in Morocco.
By dressing up as Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s beloved first leader, and standing motionless during every game, Michel Nkuka Mboladinga has demonstrated his support for the nation. As admirers cheered all around him, he stood on a pedestal with his right arm raised, much like Lumumba’s well-known monument in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
However, Algerian player Mohamed Amine Amoura was criticized for imitating Mboladinga and collapsing to the ground as if the statue had been struck down following Algeria’s victory against the Leopards on Tuesday. As a result, the 25-year-old attacker posted an apology on Instagram, saying that his actions were not meant to offend DR Congo.
The Desert Foxes seemed to be on their way to penalties when Adil Boulbina scored in the 119th minute, earning them a spot in the quarterfinals, where they will face Nigeria on Saturday. I was clueless as to the meaning of the figure or sign in the stands at the time. Amoura, who also plays for the German club Wolfsburg, said that all he wanted to do was have fun in a kind way, without any malicious intent or wish to irritate anybody.
Lumumba is seen as a hero not just in the DR Congo, where he was killed in 1961 in a conspiracy supported by Belgium, the UK, and the US, but also as one of the key leaders in Africa’s anti-colonial struggle. Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, dressed as Patrice Lumumba, wore a red pair of pants and a blue suit jacket while holding up his hand among a group of Congolese supporters in a stadium in Rabat.
Throughout DR Congo’s four AFCON games, Michel Nkuka Mboladinga remained silent. Mboladinga, who resembles Lumumba in appearance due to his glasses and haircut, was obviously upset following the game on Tuesday at Rabat’s Moulay Hassan Stadium, when the Leopards were defeated in the competition. He gradually descended from his improvised platform, removed his glasses to wipe away some tears, and leaned against it with his head in his hands.
Following Amoura’s remorseful statement, the Algerian Football Association (FAF) contacted Mboladinga and extended an invitation for him to visit the hotel in Rabat where the North African squad is lodging in order to get to know the players.
Saïd Fellak, Faf’s media officer, went to Casablanca’s Novotel Hotel on Wednesday night to meet the superfan and other Congolese fans because he was unable to go to Morocco’s capital. There, Fellak gave Mboladinga his own Desert Foxes jersey, bearing the name Lumumba on the back. Congolese fans recorded videos and images of the entente cordiale, which was also attended by Didier Budimbu, the Congolese Minister of Sports, displaying Mboladinga in his new football jersey alongside Fellak.
Source: BBC
