The Elephants of Côte d'Ivoire are painting the town of Abidjan orange for their Africa Cup of Nations trophy parade!
Check it out.
What's the story?
The streets of Abidjan have been taken over by Ivory Coast players and fans in celebration of the country's third ever Africa Cup of Nations crown.
The Elephants enjoyed a come-from-behind victory over the Super Eagles at the at the Felix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium on Sunday, with videos of their trophy parade doing the rounds on social media.
Read: Kekana On His Mother: 'I Always Call Her Imbokodo'
Let's take a closer look...
Ivory Coast AFCON trophy parade
Thousands of jubilant Ivorian football fans flocked the streets of Abidjan on Monday for their national team's victory parade after their remarkable Africa Cup of Nations triumph on Sunday evening over West African rival Nigeria.
Similarly to 2015 for their last Afcon triumph, the Elephants took to the streets of the country's economic capital to show off their well-earned prize.
The players, including heroes Sebastien Haller and Franck Kessie who scored the goals in Sunday's 2-1 final win over Nigeria, were celebrating away in their parade truck, kitted out for the joyous occasion, with a three-star sign to mark the Ivorians' third AFCON title.
Ivory Coast ???? Afcon trophy ?? parade. The celebrations have only began??????
— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) February 12, 2024
Here's Star boy ????Simon Adingra ?? pic.twitter.com/vHBfN9pAzE
Monday was declared a public holiday, in order for fans to enjoy the celebrations with their national heroes.
After the four-hour parade, the team, under heavy police escort, arrived at the Felix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan for more celebrations, wearing white 'African Champions' t-shirts, doing a lap of honour with the stands packed with orange-clad fans.
The celebrations continue for the team and the fans today and will also be received by the country's president Alassane Ouattara.
It's been a rollercoaster ride for Ivorian fans and the Elephants themselves, winning one and losing two of their group-stage matches, including a massive 4-0 loss to Equatorial-Guinea.
Their underwhelming showing in the Group stages, where the Ivorians finished third in their group, led to the departure of their French coach Jean-Louis Gasset, who had been in charge since 2022.
Emerse Fae, a former Ivorian international replaced, with zero coaching experience and oversaw and miraculous turnaround... beating holders Senegal in the last 16, beating Mali in the quarter-finals.
Read: Mudau Williams Applauded For AFCON Efforts
They went on to beat the DR Congo in the semi-finals, 1-0, curtesy of a Sébastien Haller winner and the Dortmund striker proved to be hero again in the final against Nigeria.
Have your say on the Ivorians parading their AFCON prize in the streets of Abidjan...
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
