Kinshasa, May 25, 2026 (ACP).- The artwork “Go Forward, Strength to the Leopards, National Unity,” created in 2026 by Congolese painter Franck Dikisongele, was presented on Monday to CPA as a call for national cohesion around the football team of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “This work expresses a message of patriotism, cultural identity, and national cohesion around the Leopards team,” declared Franck Dikisongele during the presentation. According to the artist, the 2-metre by 4-metre acrylic-on-canvas painting depicts a fusion between football, African masks, and national symbols, transforming the players into spiritual and cultural figures of the Congolese people. “The traditional masks worn by the players symbolize the different cultures and ethnic groups of the DRC. Each mask represents ancestral memory, wisdom, and collective strength. The team thus becomes the image of a plural yet united Congo,” Franck Dikisongele explained.
For the painter, the Leopards go beyond the sporting framework to embody the nation’s deepest values. “They embody power, courage, and national dignity. In Congolese tradition, the leopard remains a symbol of authority, bravery, and national identity,” he said.
Collective dream and colors
The artist also focused on the symbolism of the right-hand side of the painting, where the FIFA World Cup trophy notably appears. He indicated that this element represents “the collective dream,” international ambition, and the hope of an African and Congolese victory on the world stage. He added that the dominant colours of the work, notably blue, red, yellow, and green, refer both to the national flag, unity, the vitality of the people, and the energy of sport.
The presidential figure
Referring to the presence of the President of the Republic in the composition, Franck Dikisongele specified that he appears dressed in white on the left-hand side of the painting. “He expresses encouragement and unconditional national support. He appears as a parent, a guide, the father of the nation and the guarantor of national unity, encouraging the Leopards to move forward with faith and determination,” the artist reported.
Message of unity
The artist stressed the symbolic and social significance of his work, which he considers a call for national unity. “When Congolese unite behind the same cause, their cultural differences become a collective strength,” he declared.
According to him, football here becomes a unifying language capable of transcending political, ethnic, and social divisions.
He added that the nation is represented as a collective body, where each culture constitutes a different mask, but all converge towards the same objective: common victory. Franck Dikisongele concluded by underlining the patriotic significance of his artistic demarche. “The expression ‘Go forward, strength to the Leopards’ becomes a call for solidarity and resistance against everything the country has suffered, carrying the hope of a patriotic rebirth of Congo. The work transforms the players into cultural warriors, ambassadors of unity and symbolic guardians of national honor. The football field thus becomes a space of popular communion, a theatre of collective memory, and a symbol of unity for the Congolese people,” he explained.
A lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts of Kinshasa, Franck Dikisongele Zatumwa is also coordinator of the cultural platform “DR Congo, Land of Artists.” He is among the renowned Congolese visual artists, with artistic production marked by the use of vivid colors and a strong social orientation aimed at challenging and raising public awareness.