A Ghanaian village will hold a unique celebration for Aston Villa’s recent Europa League victory, with a parade of 30 motorcycles and a minibus set to roll through the community of Juaben. This comes at the same time as an open-top bus carrying the Europa League-winning team travels through Birmingham.

Villa Ends 30-Year Trophy Drought

Aston Villa ended a 30-year trophy drought with a 3-0 victory over Freiburg at Istanbul’s Besiktas Park, while the win will be celebrated with a victory procession through Birmingham on Thursday. However, more than 5,000km away, the Ghanaian village of Juaben is also preparing its own commemorative event.

Village Celebrates with Motorcycles and Minibus

The Ghanaian village of Juaben, home to about 1,000 Villa fans, will host a makeshift parade of 30 motorcycles and a minibus; the celebration is organized by the Ghana Lions, a supporters’ club led by Owusu Boakye, a lifelong Villa fan.

‘Yesterday was one of our best moments in life and what a time to support Aston Villa,’ Boakye told BBC Newsday. ‘We have hired 30 motorcycles so we can go around the whole community. We will go there to see how everybody is chanting, how everybody is feeling.’

Boakye explained that the community will use the minibus in a similar way to how Aston Villa’s team will be celebrated in Birmingham. ‘Today we are going to use our minibus like what Aston Villa will be doing today,’ he said.

Legacy of Villa in Juaben

The village’s deep connection with Aston Villa dates back to Daniel, the grandfather of Boakye. Daniel used to stay with a Villa-supporting family from Birmingham and shared stories about the club with the younger generation.

‘When we were kids he used to tell us stories and history about Aston Villa,’ Boakye said. ‘He used to talk about a certain player called ‘God’. The football ‘god’ referred to by Daniel was Paul McGrath, who made more than 250 appearances for Villa between 1989 and 1996.

McGrath was part of the squad when Villa won their most recent trophy, the 1996 League Cup. Since then, a new generation of fans in Juaben has been waiting for the club to make history again. That wait ended with the victory over Freiburg, thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia, and Morgan Rogers.

‘It was amazing. What a time to be alive – the whole community coming together to support Aston Villa,’ Boakye said. ‘During 1982, when we won our first European Cup, most of the fans here yesterday, we were not born. We were waiting for our own history yesterday.’