African Nations Make World Cup History as Atlanta Fans Rally Behind Them

Morocco made history as the first African country to reach the semifinals in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This summer, 10 countries are represented. 

Algeria, Cape Verde, Ghana, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, and South Africa are competing against 38 other countries for the $50 million prize. 

Tuesday, Senegal faced off against France in New Jersey in a match featuring fan-favorite footballers like Sadio Mané and Kylian Mbappé.  

At Ike’s Cafe and Grill’s restaurants in Norcross and Marietta, attendees came out for watch parties featuring live music, a best jersey contest, and West African cuisine. 

“Even if you’re not from Senegal or any other African teams there, we’re just happy to see how far we can get,” Ghanaian co-owner Marcy Kwarteng told Capital B Atlanta. “It’s a beautiful thing to see that we can unite as a continent and push each other forward and do so on such a grand scale.

Kwarteng shared her enthusiasm as football fans from all over the world gathered at her family-owned business.

“It’s kind of fun seeing how one sport is uniting an entire continent,” she said. 

For Nigerian chef Okon James, of Iman West African Cuisine in Norcross, the current sense of pride and heritage in the local African community parallels what he witnessed first-hand during the 1996 Olympics in Centennial Park. 

He immigrated to the United States in 1984. 

“People were happy, and there were parties everywhere,” Okon said. “This is the first time we’ve had 10 African countries participating in the World Cup, usually we only have three or two. It’s very exciting to see.” 

Charles Echemuna, who came to the United States from Nigeria when he was 6, expressed enthusiasm for the World Cup to bring countries together but also shared his disappointment that his home country didn’t qualify this year.

“There’s going to be all kinds of ethnicities and people from everywhere enjoying the game, but because Nigeria is not part of the Cup, it didn’t seem as exciting,” Echemuna said.

Nonetheless, he recognizes the significance of 10 African countries participating.

“Soccer’s an international sport, so of course, everybody’s excited,” Echemuna said. “There’s people coming in from all over different countries, specifically to see football. It’s just a really interesting time to have the World Cup here to say the least.”

In addition to global solidarity, James hopes this year’s World Cup will spur political and societal change so all 58 African countries can participate in future global tournaments.

“I believe back home our leaders will sit down and assess what is happening in this World Cup and come up with something important, something different,” James said. “Maybe they can set up a governing body that says soccer is to be treated as important, because at the world stage people are celebrating it.” 

And while France took home the win against Senegal 3-1, fans still celebrated Mbappe, whose father was born in Cameroon, for becoming the leading scorer in French history. 

African restaurants across Atlanta, including Ike’s Cafe and Grill, will continue to host watch parties for upcoming matches featuring African teams.

Atlanta resident Godfred Amponsah, who is Ghanaian, said he believes the World Cup can be an anecdote for a divided world. 

“Soccer is medicine,” he said.

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