When Caleb Yirenkyi tapped the ball into the net deep in stoppage time, hundreds of Ghanaian fans in a wood-panelled barn on the north side of Toronto left their feet simultaneously. The noise was deafening. Someone in the crowd declared it better than Christmas.

Ghana's Black Stars had just beaten Panama in their opening FIFA World Cup 2026 match in Toronto — and across the city, a diaspora community that had been singing, drumming, and dancing since dawn erupted in pure ecstasy.

A king, a square, and Jama music

The matchday began nearly ten hours before kickoff at Sankofa Square, the West African-named plaza in the heart of Toronto formerly known as Yonge-Dundas Square. The square was renamed in 2023 to move away from the legacy of Henry Dundas, a Scottish politician whose influence delayed the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The word sankofa comes from the Twi language and means