My AFCON 2025 Observatory: Why we’ll all miss DR Congo’s colourful supporters
SKAiF NewsNG SNN
By Sola Fanawopo
I am fascinated by the supporters of DR Congo — perhaps even more than by their robust football artistry. They are the unofficial ambassadors of African football’s joy. In my opinion, no country even comes a distant second.
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AFCON is never just about football. It is about rhythm, identity, and the people who turn 90 minutes into a cultural festival. And as the tournament moves on without DR Congo, one absence will be felt far beyond tactics and scorelines: their supporters.
Congolese fans don’t merely attend matches; they arrive. With drums strapped across shoulders, faces and bodies painted in national colours, and outfits that feel borrowed from both carnival and ceremony, they transform stadiums into living galleries of African expression.
Wherever the Leopards play, neutrality evaporates. The air vibrates.
At the Africa Cup of Nations, where Morocco’s modern stadiums have hosted Africa’s best with clinical efficiency, DR Congo’s fans supplied the necessary disorder—joyful, musical, and defiantly human. In a competition increasingly shaped by structure, data, and compact defensive blocks, they reminded us of AFCON’s soul.
There is something uniquely Congolese about their support. It is not just noise; it is choreography. Songs rise and fall like waves, drums dictate tempo, and even moments of tension are met with dance rather than dread. Win or lose, they stay. They sing. They perform. They believe.
Their presence also does something subtle but powerful: it frees the tournament from stiffness. African football has long battled unfair stereotypes abroad, but AFCON itself risks another danger—becoming too sanitized. DR Congo’s fans resist that. They inject colour into concrete, memory into metal stands, and history into the present.
For neutral fans, matches involving DR Congo were always must-watch, even before kickoff. Broadcasters love them. Photographers chase them. Other supporters borrow their chants. They are the tournament’s unofficial cultural headliners.
So yes, teams will advance. Trophies will still be lifted. Tactics will still be dissected.
But something essential has slipped quietly out of the stadium gates.
AFCON will continue.
But it will sound different.
It will look different.
And in those quieter moments — between a missed chance and a VAR check — many of us will realize just how much DR Congo’s colourful supporters carried this tournament on their drums.
If DR Congo eventually qualify for the World Cup, the world will finally experience this carnival on football’s grandest stage.
Sola Fanawopo, Chairman Osun Football Association
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