DOUALA, Cameroon

The captain of the French national soccer team, Kylian Mbappe is on a ground-breaking three-day visit to Cameroon, his father's homeland, Anadolu reports.

Cameroon is celebrating the visit of 24-year-old Mbappe, who is setting foot on his father's native soil for the first time.

His visit began on Thursday afternoon when he arrived in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde via Nsimalen airport. His first steps in Cameroon were marked by a visit to the headquarters of the Association for the Fight against Hearing Loss in Cameroon (ALDAC), which he supports and has completely renovated.

The schedule Anadolu received from his visit organizers includes a visit on Friday morning to the school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children run by the Foundation for the Education and Promotion of People with Hearing Impairments (FEPPDA) in Yaounde, followed by a "Mbappe versus Joakim [Noah]" basketball match, former NBA player and son of Yannick Noah, former French tennis champion of Cameroonian origin living in Cameroon.

On the same day, a meeting is scheduled with Joseph Dion Ngute, Cameroon's Prime Minister.

His visit will end on Saturday with a trip to Djebale, a tourist island where his father was born, near Douala, the economic capital.

Speaking to CRTV Sport, the sports arm of Cameroon's national television station, Mbappe described a "great" first day and said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the welcome he had received.

"People like me a lot here," he said, explaining that his arrival is "above all a personal pleasure."

"I'm already very involved in the social milieu in France, but it was important to come back here and do it in the country of my origins so that people feel real and not just a guy you see on TV and in photos," said the French striker.

"Message of hope, positivity"

Like him, many Cameroonians take pleasure in what some observers see as a strong sign for African youth in general.

"It's the recognition of a son who is rediscovering part of his roots. Above all, there's the personality that he represents for young people. But when we say youth, we're not talking about age but about the future of African development in France. We've seen that his voice is influential and even counts in the political world. His popularity sends a strong message to young Africans who want to see Africa managed and developed differently," a former French local authority of Cameroonian origin told Anadolu on condition of anonymity.

It's " the message to remember beyond the sport and the festivities. Because a young person like him who comes back and treads the soil of Cameroon, which is like Africa in miniature, is a message of hope and positivity for the whole continent," he added.

According to him, this means that Africans born abroad don't forget their origins.

"It's very fundamental. Because tomorrow's Africa won't be built without them," he added, appreciating "a country's legendary welcome for its son, who paradoxically, through his choices and positions, has often shown a preference for his French nationality."

Even for those who are not fans of this soccer player, in Cameroon, this trip remains "a good thing."

So says Samuel Elame, a young Cameroonian entrepreneur who has a preference only for players who play for the national team despite belonging to foreign clubs.

"He is French. With Cameroon origin, but he is still French since he grew up there, from what I know. This trip is a good thing. It shows either he or his media manager thought this would be good," he added.