Paris Saint-Germain and France national football team star striker Kylian Mbappé was given a standing ovation by hundreds of fans on Thursday upon his arrival in Cameroon for a charity visit and village tour from his father. A hysterical crowd of around 400 people, curious and fans wearing the PSG jersey in particular, shouted his name when he appeared at the exit of the airport terminal in Yaoundé, the capital. Mbappé greeted a hundred traditional dancers who were performing on his arrival, an event supervised by a hundred police and gendarmes.
Visit for a few days
He is welcomed for his visit of a few days to Village Noah, a hotel complex belonging to the family of Yannick Noah, the former French tennis star who has taken up residence in Yaoundé and is one of the organizers of Mbappé’s visit. All smiles, the world football star greeted the crowd kept at a distance by the police from afar, then quickly rushed into an SUV with smoked glass which took the direction of Yaoundé.
The program provides for him to visit the school for deaf and hard of hearing children of the Foundation for the Education and Promotion of Hearing Impaired People (FEPPDA) on the outskirts of the capital on Friday morning, then take part in a “basketball match Mbappé vs Joakim”, probably Joakim Noah, retired NBA star and son of Yannick. In the afternoon, he will participate in a football match against FC Vent d’Etoudi, a Cameroonian D2 club chaired by Yannick Noah. Saturday, in the economic capital Douala, in the south, he must visit a school then, not far, the village of Djebalé of his father Wilfrid Mbappé, born in Douala, but who left Cameroon very early for France where he including being a football coach.
“It’s a pride”
“It is an opportunity for him to visit in Yaoundé and Douala the two schools rehabilitated by his association Inspired By KM, to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors in Djebalé, to spend time with young Cameroonians”, detailed his entourage in Paris in a statement sent to AFP.
“It is a source of pride as a Cameroonian, because he is a Cameroonian by origin, but he is also an honest man, to be able to see the best player in the world, to have the possibility of exchanging with him” , was enthusiastic at the airport Arsène Pinlap, 37, president of the PSG fan club in Yaoundé, who came as a delegation. “We are proud to see our Cameroonian brother. We want to offer him a very warm welcome,” added Vannel Kunde, a 16-year-old high school student. “I am very happy to welcome Kylian Mbappé to our country. It is an immense joy for us children who love football”, strangled Armelle Ntsama, an 18-year-old high school student.