A month before Senegal’s first 2026 World Cup match, Oumar updated his WhatsApp status. In the photo, he stands in the middle of a bright white stairwell, lit by overhead LEDs bouncing off mirrors on the walls. His back to the camera, Oumar looks down at the bottom of the stairs. Glossy tiles glow beneath his feet. He places one hand lightly on the railing like a debutante, while his other hand points back to the vinyl numbers printed on the back of his green jersey: 221, Senegal’s area code. Above him hovers the word HOME and a giant red arrow, pointing down. At first, I thought it was a caption that Oumar had superimposed on the image. But then I recognized it as a sign hanging from the ceiling in the Home Goods section of the LotLess where Oumar works as a security guard. Over the year and a half that he’s worked there, all manner of occasions—Eid, July 4, his birthday—have been commemorated on those steps.

He had ordered the jersey from his friend in Dakar who runs a flock printing business.…