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Ahmed Ageeb, a Sudanese soccer fan, said this year’s Africa Cup felt special because his homeland qualified for the first time in years. (Submitted by Ahmed Ageeb)<\/p>\nFor nearly a month, Montrealers from African countries have been gathering in the city’s caf\u00e9s, restaurants, bars and the comfort of their own homes to support their respective teams in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations \u2014 the continent’s preeminent soccer tournament.<\/p>\n
Since Dec. 21, people have celebrated, laughed, smiled, sang and experienced a whirlwind\u00a0of emotions as their teams won and lost, never losing their profound love for the sport and their home countries.<\/p>\n
We went to different eateries to meet with soccer aficionados. Here is a look back at a month of sports, passion and African unity in the city. The competition ends on Sunday with a final between Senegal and the host country, Morocco.<\/p>\n
‘I want people to feel that I am truly Ivorian’<\/p>\n
PHOTOS | The Elephants fans:<\/p>\n
In the heart of Montreal\u2019s Mile End, Ivorian restaurant Le Platana buzzes with lively conversations. Ivory Coast supporters’ eyes are glued to the TV screens, cheering on their team, the defending champions of 2023.<\/p>\n
Ismael Ouattara downs a few shots.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s really a place that’s full of emotion. I like coming here,\u201d he said, beaming. \u201cI have a few shots because you need to have your heart in the right place to watch this team.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though he loves to gather with his community in Montreal, he said the atmosphere in Ivory Coast is completely different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when I was a kid, every evening, we would play soccer until 8 p.m., 9 p.m. We like soccer, it\u2019s our favourite sport for all Ivorian people, I think,\u201d said Ouattara.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like to get together, watch things together, live, experience emotions together, and that makes the experience more interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Elie Tano, pre-game preparation begins with fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDressing well is my favourite ritual. Since I am someone who loves fashion, I brought out my orange, white and green outfit,\u201d said Tano, dressed in the colours of Ivory Coast\u2019s tricolour flag.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to feel that I am truly Ivorian.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘A way to show what Morocco is capable of’<\/p>\n
PHOTOS | The Atlas Lions supporters:<\/p>\n
Lively Moroccan music, bright smiles and the sounds of the derbouka infuse a venue space in Montreal’s Old Port with joy. <\/p>\n
Dounia Slaoui, who came from Morocco in 2014, used to not watch the Africa Cup frequently.\u00a0But now, it’s become her bridge to her beloved home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had this nostalgia for Morocco, and that nostalgia has never left me since I arrived,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For Slaoui, the tournament goes beyond soccer, reinforcing her sense of belonging and affirming an unshakable pride in her nation\u2019s achievements. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows me to get to know a bit about the efforts our country is making to invest in this sport, which for us is a way to show what Morocco is capable of,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year, her friend Ghizlane Berrada joined her for her first Montreal watch party, organized by Moroccan Youth of Montreal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always support the team, even if there\u2019s a distance \u2026 between us. Our hearts are with the team,\u201d said Berrada.<\/p>\n
‘It allows me to have memories of my country’<\/p>\n
PHOTOS | The Teranga Lions supporters:<\/p>\n
In the city, soccer fans of Senegalese descent move from venue to venue, their warmth, drumbeats and hospitability lighting up every space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moustapha Fall works hard to create these moments of togetherness within his community, as well as with other members of African diasporas.<\/p>\n
He is involved with Espace Afrique, which supports newly arrived students and young graduates from African countries, and SenMtl, an Instagram page highlighting Montreal Senegalese entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, the Africa Cup is truly the biggest thing that not only allows us to talk about our continent, but also to showcase our values, our cultures, and the moments of sharing between African communities,\u201d said Fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really the only thing that can bring together different nations and different communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Awa Kane\u2019s eyes glimmer as she recalls memories of fan zones in her treasured Dakar, remembering the big screens they’d set up in Senegal. She says the fan zones in Montreal are reminiscent of her homeland. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows me to have memories of my country, to relive my country even while being in Canada,” said Kane.<\/p>\n
‘It always gives me goosebumps’<\/p>\n
PHOTOS | The Indomitable Lions fans:<\/p>\n
Grace Nlom, a French student in Montreal of Cameroonian origin, noticed a stark contrast between soccer screenings in France and Montreal. That\u2019s when she decided to create watch parties in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can find all origins in Montreal and I feel like we don\u2019t take full advantage of that,\u201d said Nlom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn France, people go out, people do things, and here I find it\u2019s quiet, even though we really have great potential.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the Cameroon versus Ivory Coast game, which ended in a draw, playful teasing flew back and forth at Le Bled Resto Lounge and happiness spread through the room. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, we love each other so much,\u201d Nlom said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Pascal Sobtaguim, originally from Cameroon, the competition is more than a game.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery often, we tend to separate the peoples of Africa. I think the Africa Cup is a great opportunity for all peoples to gather in a country and enjoy it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt always gives me goosebumps. It\u2019s something special. It’s not the Champions League, it\u2019s not the Euro, it\u2019s not the World Cup \u2014 it\u2019s the Africa Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Soccer in Algeria is like a religion’<\/p>\n
PHOTOS | The Fennec Foxes supporters:<\/p>\n
Caf\u00e9 Safir, in the city’s Little Maghreb neighbourhood, hums with energy as \u201c1, 2, 3, Viva l\u2019Alg\u00e9rie\u201d and other Algerian chants fill the air. <\/p>\n
For Hakim Ait Hamadouche, the Africa Cup is a recognition of his roots, \u201cthe foundation of our identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver there, people stop everything because soccer in Algeria is like a religion. But even here, we\u2019ve found a community that is growing more and more. In the end, we manage to come together with our fellow countrymen,\u201d said Ait Hamadouche, with a smile.<\/p>\n
Yazid Soualmia, who arrived two years ago with his family, drives to Little Maghreb to give his children a taste of their cultural heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, it\u2019s important that they don\u2019t forget their roots,\u201d said Soualmia.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re happy here, we love Quebec, but we also won\u2019t forget where we come from.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Congo is on the rise in football’<\/p>\n
PHOTOS | The Leopards fans:<\/p>\n
Instead of trying to recreate the ambiance at home, Germ Dilumona Capela, a Montrealer of Congolese origin, flew straight to Morocco to be in the heart of the action.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His passion for the sport, which he now plays, began with his parents, who taught him about the Democratic Republic of the Congo\u2019s successes during the tournament.<\/p>\n
He said seeing his team play in person felt \u201cmagical.” <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing in the same stadium with 15,000 other Congolese people is really different from watching at home,\u201d said Dilumona Capela.<\/p>\n
\u201cMorocco is a beautiful place \u2026 and Congo is on the rise in football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meeting supporters from other countries was also a highlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe enjoy teasing each other online, so to speak, but in person, it\u2019s even better,\u201d he explained, laughing. \u201cAnd whether you win or lose, the atmosphere among supporters is always nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘A chance to have a little bit of national pride’Ahmed Ageeb, a Sudanese soccer fan, said this year’s Africa Cup felt special because his homeland qualified for the first time in years. (Submitted by Ahmed Ageeb)<\/p>\n
Ahmed Ageeb, a Montrealer of Sudanese origin, felt a special thrill this year as his cherished Falcons of Jediane qualified for the first time in a few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a blast because you\u2019re probably not watching with someone from your same country,\u201d Ageeb said, nodding to his Moroccan, Algerian and Egyptian friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching with them is nice because there\u2019s some banter, there\u2019s some back and forth. But it\u2019s always good comradery.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amid the teasing and the laughs, there\u2019s a deep pride in these moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that African sports are really televised as much, so when the AFCON comes along, we get a chance to have a little bit of national pride.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next Africa Cup of Nations will take place in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For nearly a month, Montrealers from African countries have been gathering in the city’s caf\u00e9s, restaurants, bars and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-415141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}