The young footballer has emerged victorious after a four-day tournament in the city, which - in a rarity for the region - was attended by international scouts. "The cup, it's a reward for my efforts," says Alexis Isese Chuma, 18, who adds that playing before talent spotters "is an opportunity that doesn't come along twice in a lifetime".
Militias have ravaged eastern DRC for three decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared during the 1990s and 2000s. Since late 2021, the M23 rebel group has also captured swathes of territory in the region, and come close to encircling Goma. Despite the strife, the founder of Goma's GOAL Football Academy, Ugo Kasuku, organised a tournament this month and invited three European football scouts.
Former DRC midfielder Michel Dinzey, now a scout for Hertha Berlin, one of the many teams he played for in Germany's Bundesliga, turned up.