10 World Cups and Counting: A Portrait of France Superfan Clement D’Antibes | OneFootball

Spanning over 40 years and hundreds of thousands of miles, France superfan Clement D’Antibes has become an iconic figure of support for Les Bleus. 

France. A true football powerhouse that has seen the highest peaks the sport has to offer.  A two‑time World Cup champion and a nation defined by A-list legends like Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappé.

But there’s another figure whose devotion to Les Bleus deserves its own spotlight: Clement Tomaszewski, also known as Clement d’Antibes, a diehard supporter whose passion has carried him across continents and decades.

Clement’s football journey began in 1980, when a friend brought him to the Stade du Ray for an OGC Nice match, according to an interview with FIFA.com he gave in 2022. The simple outing quietly planted the seed of his fanaticism, but it was two years later when his path would truly set in motion.

In the lead up to the 1982 World Cup, Nice midfielder Daniel Bravo had been named to France’s training squad, only to suffer an injury that crushed his dream.

“He was devastated,” Clement said to FIFA. “We told him: ‘Listen Daniel, if you can’t go to Spain, then we’ll go for you.’”

That promise, born from empathy, loyalty, and youthful conviction, became the spark that ignited a lifelong pilgrimage following France across the world. And when Clement attended the 1982 World Cup and watched France take on England in their opening match, the atmosphere sealed his fate, leading to a journey that has spanned more than 300,000 kilometers across four continents.

Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images

In 1998, another tradition began: Clement started bringing his cockerels — all named Balthazar, the unofficial mascot of French football — to France matches. For nearly 20 years, Balthazar traveled with him, becoming a familiar sight among supporters and tourists, and a quirky symbol of Clement’s matchday ritual.

But ahead of EURO 2016, UEFA issued a warning instructing him not to bring the bird for security reasons. Despite this, Clement remained unapologetic. “My cock’s part of the French football legend,” he told the BBC, a tongue-in-cheek line that perfectly captured both his humor and his dedication.

Forty-four years removed from his first World Cup pilgrimmage, Clement achieved his La Decima — as the 2026 FIFA World Cup represented the 10th tournament that he traveled for. It’s a staggering feat of devotion, even comparable to the record-setting enduring icons Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Guillermo Ochoa, who each saw their sixth World Cup this summer in North America.

After the France-Senegal game in New Jersey at the 2026 World Cup, I was making my way back to the media center when something instantly stopped me in my tracks. In a sea of fans, one figure stood out, not because of fame or status, but because of something far rarer: an unwavering, decades-long loyalty to a team and a country that have shaped his life. That moment led me to Clement, and ultimately to the privilege of meeting and interviewing him briefly.

After his confident-yet-ultimately incorrect proclamation that France would win their third World Cup, I had the chance to ask Clement one essential question before he departed. I wanted to know what the French national team and their iconic tricolor of blue, white, and red truly meant to him.

“It’s family,” Clement said. “It’s struggle. It’s solidarity. It does not matter where you come from and your religion, we are all together to support our team.” Hearing those words from a man who has spent so much time following Les Bleus across continents was striking.

Although I didn’t see Balthazar that day, Clement’s words captured exactly what the Gallic rooster has come to represent for France. What began as an Ancient Roman insult — gallus, meaning both “rooster” and “Gaul” — was eventually reclaimed by the French as a symbol of pride, resilience, and unity. Over centuries, the rooster evolved from a linguistic jab into an emblem of national identity, standing for vigilance, courage, and unity.

Listening to Clement, that history suddenly felt alive. In a world increasingly shaped by conflict, division, and noise, his answer carried a rare clarity and a reminder that football, at its best, binds people together rather than pulling them apart. His voice, steady with age yet full of conviction, reflected a lifetime of witnessing how the sport can unite strangers, bridge differences, and create community in places where it’s needed most. In that moment, Clement wasn’t just speaking about France; he was speaking about what football can still mean to all of us.

Photography by Justin Knight for Urban Pitch unless otherwise noted.