After the final whistle on Tuesday at Rabat’s Moulay Hassan Stadium, which saw the Leopards knocked out of the tournament, Mboladinga – who with his hairstyle and glasses looks remarkably like Lumumba – was visibly distraught.
He removed his glasses to wipe away some tears, slowly got down from his makeshift plinth and leant against it with his head in his hands.
The Algerian Football Association (Faf) reached out to Mboladinga following Amoura’s contrite statement and invited him to the hotel where the North African team are staying in Rabat to meet the players.
The superfan was not able to get to Morocco’s capital so Faf’s media officer Saïd Fellak travelled to Casablanca’s Novotel Hotel to see him and other Congolese supporters on Wednesday evening.
There Fellak presented Mboladinga with his own Desert Foxes jersey with the name “Lumumba” printed on the back.
Videos and photos of the entente cordiale, also attended by Congolese Sports Minister Didier Budimbu, were captured by Congolese fans, showing Mboladinga next to Fellak with his new football shirt.
It is not clear if the Lumumba superfan and his pedestal will make it to Mexico, where the Leopards are expected to play in March’s highly anticipated intercontinental World Cup qualifiers.
Six teams will compete to be allocated the final two places up for grabs for the World Cup, which kicks off in June.
Algeria have already qualified for the tournament that is being jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States – and Amoura hopes that he will get to see the Leopards there too.
“I respect Congo and their team. Honestly, I wish them the best and hope they qualify for the World Cup,” he said. BBC
