World cup 2026: African fans’ memorable adventures

The World Cup is all over now, but it has left an indelible mark, especially for some. Wanderlust Ghana, a group of adventurers famed for their endurance road trips, took on what might stand as the biggest challenge of their lives – driving in convoy from Ghana to the 2026 World Cup in the Americas.

Having gained global attention with their 2023 journey from Ghana to the UK, which took 16 days and saw them clock up around 10,000km, this new challenge took them even further.

Setting off on 26 April, the drivers traversed three continents by car to cheer on Ghana’s Black Stars, passing through 12 countries and taking a trans-oceanic journey from London to New York. The journey was not all smooth, with a 48-hour Mauritanian border delay, road connectivity gaps and spare-part sourcing difficulties, to name a few problems.

They arrived in Toronto, Canada, to a rousing reception, in time for their team’s opening game on 17 June, and followed the Black Stars until they took their final bow in the Round of 32, losing 1-0 to Colombia. Their epic journey was followed by media outlets across the world.

Elsewhere, whilst he didn’t endure a journey over three continents, super-fan Michel Kuka Mboladinga, better known as ‘Lumumba Vea’, achieved global renown at the World Cup. His performance art involves posing as a ‘living statue’ in the stands at football games, dressed in a suit fashioned from DRC’s national colours, with one arm raised – impersonating a famous monument found in Kinshasa of Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister and independence hero of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He first started offering his tribute to Lumumba at DRC’s national football matches in 2013 and went on to achieve widespread fame with it during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mboladinga missed his team’s opening game against Portugal in Houston, Texas, due to Ebola-related travelling restrictions enforced by US border control, but he made it to their second game in Mexico’s Guadalajara stadium, where they lost 1-0 to Colombia. DRC’s next two games took place in the US, so sadly, he missed attending the final group game and the round of 32 match against England, which sent Les Leopards home along with their No. 1 supporter.

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