DR Congo’s famous living statue made his World Cup debut on Tuesday as the superfan watched their narrow group stage defeat by Colombia.
The fan, Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, earned fame during the Africa Cup of Nations for posing as a statue of DR Congo’s assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba for the entirety of games.
He had been forced to wait to watch his national team at the World Cup – DR Congo’s first since they competed as Zaire in 1974, after missing their draw due to Ebola quarantine requirements.
Nkuka Mboladinga ultimately suffered disappointment as DR Congo were beaten 1-0 by Colombia, with Daniel Munoz scoring a deflected winner for the South Americans.
He is far from the only World Cup fan who has risen to prominence when supporting their nation at major tournaments.
Daily Mail Sport takes a closer look at some of the World Cup superfans you may and probably will have seen picked out by the cameras at the tournament to date.
DR Congo fan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga – who stands in a statuesque pose during matches – was in attendance for their 1-0 loss by Colombia on Tuesday
Michel Nkuka Mboladinga
Sticking with Nkuka Mboladinga – who has been nicknamed ‘Lumumba’ and ‘Lumumba Vea’ – the DR Congo superfan has been famed for adopting his motionless pose since 2013.
His rise to prominence came after DR Congo participated at AFCON earlier this year, with social media becoming enthralled by his pose and attire.
Nkuka Mboladinga is known for wearing a bright red jacket and tie, a yellow shirt and blue trousers with the colours coming from the DR Congo flag.
He clambered up onto a pedestal prior to the match and raised his right arm aloft. His pose is aimed at copying the statue of Patrice Lumumba back in Kinshasa, DR Congo’s capital.
Lumumba was an activist who helped to end Belgium’s colonial rule over Congo in 1960. He became the newly independent country´s first prime minister and was seen as one of Africa’s most promising leaders, but he was assassinated within a year during a struggle against a Belgian-backed secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region.
A Belgian court in March ordered a 93-year-old former diplomat to stand trial for the slaying. Etienne Davignon, who previously denied wrongdoing, is the last living among 10 Belgians suspected of involvement in the killing and has been charged with ‘participation in war crimes’ for his role in the ‘unlawful detention and transfer’ of Lumumba.
Nkuka Mboladinga could be seen more in the coming days, with DR Congo still having the chance to qualify for the knock-out stages if they overcome Uzbekistan in their final group match.
Nkuka Mboladinga’s outfit aims to mirror the colours of the DR Congo flag, while he seeks to honour their assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba
Hector Chavez
Co-hosts Mexico have long been supported by their superfan Hector Chavez, dating back to when they last hosted the World Cup back in 1986.
Chavez is attending his 11th World Cup and is known for wearing an oversized sombrero which features his nickname ‘Caramelo’. The sombrero for the World Cup features the flags of all the competing teams at the tournament.
Speaking to AP following their victory over South Korea last week, Chavez’s 543rd match watching the national team, he spoke of his pride at being in attendance at a home World Cup and the struggles to attend due to the cost.
‘Mexico has one of the best fan bases in the world, one that travels the most to matches, and one of the most colourful ones in the world, with tradition, identity and pride,’ Chavez said.
‘I’m very fortunate to be here, with my son by my side in his fifth World Cup, to keep supporting the national team with everything we’ve got.
‘This has been the most expensive World Cup in history, some of my friends who usually accompany me couldn’t come.
‘I had to break the piggy bank, and we are here with the support of our family, because without this support it wouldn’t be possible. The truth is that we’ve worked hard to be here, but finally we made it and we will keep following the national team to the end.’
Chavez, whose son goes by the same name and wears his own sombrero with nickname ‘Caramelo Jr’, also pushed back against criticism of him stealing the spotlight and attempting to promote himself by throwing his sombrero onto the pitch during matches.
Mexico fan Hector Chavez, known as Caramelo, wears a giant sombrero featuring all the competing teams at the World Cup
Chavez is attending his 11th World Cup, while his son is following his legacy by joining him for a fifth successive finals
Ivana Knoll
Croatian fan Ivana Knoll has faced criticism herself over a series of daring outfits when attending matches.
Knoll earned attention for the first time in 2018 during Croatia’s run to the World Cup final, where she was dubbed as the tournament’s ‘sexiest fan’ due to her revealing outfits.
This prompted criticism in 2022, with Knoll’s outfit choices criticised due to her failing to adapt to the tournament being held in a very conservative country in Qatar.
‘There is good and bad and some things are blessings and some are lessons,’ she told Daily Mail in 2024.
‘I am the type of person who doesn’t care about other people’s opinions anyway.
‘But definitely my career changed a lot in an amazing way (after Qatar) and it helped me to get back to my biggest love which is music.’
Knoll has claimed the recognition from the World Cup led to her being invited to DJ at events like the recent Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami and in Las Vegas.
‘Nobody made me nobody can break me. I choose the harder way for my career not to sell myself or my soul and it’s not easy but I am making it.’
Knoll DJed in Dallas earlier this month after Croatia’s 4-2 defeat by England, where she had been once again in attendance wearing another revealing outfit.
Croatian fan Ivana Knoll has been dubbed the World Cup’s ‘sexiest fan’ due to her revealing outfits at the tournament
Knoll posed for photographers while watching Croatia lose to England in the group stages
Daniel Oordt
Dutch superfan Daniel Oordt, by contrast, is known for wearing more clothes. In particular, a suit in their traditional orange associated with the team.
Oordt – known as ‘Oranje Suit Man’ – went viral during the World Cup in Qatar after the Netherlands beat the United States.
The 31-year-old claims to have attended every Netherlands match since 2015, having first watched one of their World Cup matches a year prior in Brazil.
He has admitted his attendance at matches ‘takes priority’ over his work having moved his schedule around as an airline pilot in order to watch matches. This is made harder by Oordt now living in the United States
Oordt told People magazine that his tailor in San Francisco custom designed his suit, with his commitment to the orange extending to a scarf, socks and underwear.
The suit includes pins gifted to him on his travels following the team, while Oordt explained his glasses came from a Dutch phrase ‘seeing the world through orange glasses.’
‘I think the coolest thing of it all is the people you meet on this journey, the experiences you have in countries that you would not normally travel to.
‘What’s very rewarding for me is the connections I’m able to build and stay in touch with these people for years afterward.’
Oordt admitted his profile has snowballed in recent years, including being featured on a mural in Dallas alongside Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk. He was also invited to tour the king of the Netherlands around his airline’s headquarters.
The Oranje Suit Man has also acknowledged his look is challenging in the heat in the United States.
Daniel Oordt has become known as ‘Oranje Suit Man’ for his look while supporting the Netherlands
The airline pilot, who gained fame at Qatar 2022, revealed he organises his work schedule around attending national team matches
Andy Milne
England fans will be all too aware of Andy Milne, who appears to have been snapped up by a host of brands who are looking to cash in on World Cup fever.
Milne has become a recognisable face at England men’s and women’s football matches after a picture of him wearing a Three Lions shirt and holding a replica World Cup trophy at Qatar 2022 went viral.
The retired teacher, who is now living in Thailand, is out enjoying his tenth World Cup following England.
Dubbed ‘The World Cup guy’, Milne first attended the finals at Spain 1982 at the age of 19.
He has since followed England to eight further men’s World Cups, as well as attending the Women’s World Cup in Australia in 2023, where Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses made the final.
Milne generated headlines in the build-up to this World Cup over the sale of a £350,000 home to fund his trip, which includes attending matches and visiting famous landmarks.
‘It has been a bit exaggerated that story,’ Milne later clarified. ‘I took early retirement to go to Qatar as a teacher and I won’t get my full pension for another four years.
‘I moved house 13 years ago and invested the money in the previous house and we have rented it since then. It has always been my pension pot and now it is time to cash out that pension pot.
England fan Andy Milne is attending his 10th World Cup finals and has become a face for brands due to his growing profile
Milne, pictured partying with England fans in Dallas, was critical of the costs faced by fans of attending this summer’s World Cup
‘That had always been part of my planning to go to the World Cup, that is where the story is.’
Milne, who has been charting his World Cup trip on social media, hit out at organisers FIFA prior to the tournament over the costs of fans attending.
‘What the USA and FIFA have done this time I think is disgusting,’ Milne said.
‘At Qatar, in Russia, in Brazil, all of your transport to and from the games was free. All your fanzones were free. If you were a fan and had a ticket, it was 48 hours free transport in that city, there and back.
‘At the USA, the transport to and from the grounds they have apparently quadrupled the price for the World Cup. Everybody is trying to cash in.
‘They are fleecing the fans, they are trying to prey on this fear that we are not going to get a ticket, a fear of missing out. The fans are being forced to buy at very high prices.
‘Combined with the cost and lack of transparency of tickets, means a lot of England fans, quite understandably, have decided not to travel.’
