DR Congo takes it to the rainy streets at 1am to celebrate the World Cup win

Finally it happened. After over half of century, the Leopards will be participants at the World Cup. And DR Congo’s participation is 100% deserved. As underdogs, they elimainated both Cameroon and Nigeria when nobody gave them any chance, and with a bit of huff and puff eliminated Jamaica in overtime to book their tikets to USA, Mexico and Canada. And it was quite normal that people of Congo’s cities poured out to celebrate, even though it was one o’clock in the mourning and the rain was falling.

A cacophony of banging pots, honking horns, and whistles could be heard on the streets of Kinshasa where people came out in thousants.

"We gave it our all, in the rain! On Wednesday, we're not going to work; it's a national holiday. We're going to celebrate and enjoy ourselves all night long because we've been waiting for this for fifty years. We're here until the early hours!" exclaimed Beni Ile, a fan with a soaked DRC flag draped over his shoulders.

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The country thorned by thirty years of conflict and the resurgence of the M23 armed group, which has seized vast swathes of territory in the east, this was also a rare opportunity to unite, as football often bonds people.

"It's truly exceptional, we are very proud of the Leopards today for this feat. This victory will unify Congo, because the Leopards represent the only time when Congolese people are truly Congolese, and we hope that the whole country will benefit from it," exclaimed Merou, from Goma, a major city in eastern DRC that fell to the M23 in January 2025. The Leopards join Group K of the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada (June 11 - July 19), along with Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan.