When Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal finally broke their 22-year curse to lift the Premier League trophy, North London was in ruptures, as the N5 community were elated to see their beloved Gunners end their title drought.
It was not only the London-based fans that were beyond overjoyed though: supporters all over the globe got their respective countries to a standstill. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew attention on Wednesday after appearing in an Arsenal FC-inspired kurta during Eid al-Adha celebrations in the Bronx.
In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni was aghast at how Arsenal fans in the country stole his election victory thunder. In Ghana and Nigeria, the streets of Lagos and Accra were completely painted red as tens of thousands of Gooners organized massive car carnivals, street block parties.
Across the Atlantic, American fan groups turned major city centers into miniature North London hubs, packing out iconic plazas from New York to Los Angeles for sunrise watch parties that quickly spilled into daylight parades.
But it was in Nairobi, Kenya, where activities within the City were halted, not once, but twice, to celebrate that illustrious milestone. So much so, even Governor Johnson Sakaja joined the fray and handed out cash rewards directly to ecstatic fans inside the Central Business District.
Add the fact that, on the Sunday the Gunners lifted the title, a number of fans blocked access to the Thika Road Superhighway as they danced in jubilation.
These are just but a small representation of events that signified Arsenal is now a local social identity, especially in East Africa.
Yet when July rolls around, Europe’s elite clubs will inevitably board luxury jets to play sterile, half-hearted friendlies in Baltimore, Los Angeles, or Tokyo.
And it begs the question: Is it finally time for a superclub like them to actually conduct a pre-season tour in Kenya? Striver.Football explains why a tour in East Africa might make sense for the Gunners.
1. The Huge Commercial Opportunity For Arsenal in Kenya
The pre-season circuit of European clubs has become increasingly predictable. Most sides opt to chase the purchasing power of Americans or the East Asian tech markets every single summer, but it is a strategy that is starting to saturate.
Although Americans are slowly starting to embrace football, or soccer as they like to call it, the atmosphere generated in arenas during pre-season clashes is often casual and corporate. In East Africa, by contrast, football fans are crazy about the English Premier League.
If the street celebrations organised by the club’s Kenyan branch in Nairobi were anything to go by, they showed that the consumer market within the region is mature enough. If a replica trophy parade was able to bring the city to a standstill, imagine what the live appearances of star players like Bukayo Saka, William Saliba or Declan Rice would do?
It would shatter merchandising and ticket-revenue records for an African sporting event. Leaving this market off the annual tour would be simply bad business.
In 2017 and 2019, Everton, a club who were then sponsored by leading gaming firm SportPesa, faced Gor Mahia and Kariobangi Sharks in Tanzania and Kenya respectively.
Fans filled both the Benjamin Mkapa stadium in Dar Es Salaam and the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi to the brim, and that was just Everton. Imagine the impact Arsenal would have in a nation where so many of its Citizens are Gooners at heart? Even the thought of the predicted outcome alone is mindblowing!
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2. Kenya’s High Altitude Could Offer Arsenal a Competitive Edge
Arteta is a manager that likes to take advantage of small marginal gains, even with pre-season. He will want his charges to train in an environment naturally designed to maximize physical conditioning before a gruelling campaign.
Nairobi’s altitude might be key to that. Siting 1,612 meters (5,289 feet) above sea level, Kenya’s capital provides a natural high-altitude training environment.
Elite European athletic institutions spend millions building specialized camps in the Alps or Spain to trigger hypoxia, forcing the body to produce more red blood cells and drastically boosting cardiovascular endurance.
Basing a pre-season training camp in Nairobi would make Arsenal gain a massive physical conditioning edge over rivals frying in the humid, low-altitude summer heat of the American East Coast.
3. The Upgrades in Facilities Ahead of AFCON 2027
Kenya, alongside Uganda and Tanzania, will co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) set to take place in June and July. At the moment, Kenya is in the process of completing a state-of-the-art 60,000 seater Talanta Sports City stadium, which will host the final of the tournament.
On top of that, three training facilities are being completed within the stadium's premises alongside Ngong Road in Nairobi.
At the same time, renovations are being made to also elevate Nyayo and Kasarani stadium, as well as a number of other facilities like the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang'ata and Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu, which will serve as training grounds.
This will give the Gunners the very ideal conditions to train, unlike in the USA, where playing surfaces might be unideal because their grounds host other sports, like American football and baseball, making them uneven.
4. A Simpler Alternative to the Traditional US Tour
Many managers speak out against the brutal toll of travelling across the Atlantic for pre-season. Flying across eight time zones to the US West Coast or Australia disrupts sleep cycles, creates intense jet lag, and destroys the first two weeks of tactical training.
Nairobi operates on East Africa Time (EAT) which sits just 2 to 3 hours ahead of the UK depending on daylight savings.
Arsenal could fly out of London, touch down at JKIA, and hold an evening training session with minimal jet lag affecting the squad.
Furthermore, the club has already held an existing, high-profile commercial tourism partnership in “Visit Rwanda”.
Although the partnership will be coming to an end after eight years, the club had already started to forge strong connections within the East African region thanks to the deal, which only deepened connection with some of the local fans.
Why Arsenal’s East African Connection Is Stronger Than Ever
Should Arsenal conduct a pre-season in Kenya? The simple answer is yes. And it also would not be the first time a big-six Premier League side has come to Africa. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, it was common to see Manchester United players rub shoulders with enthusiastic South African supporters in cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The Gunners may be starting a dynasty after years of waiting in-vain for a Premier League title, and if they want to fully cement the loyalty of some of their global fans, touring in East Africa, and especially to Kenya, might not be a bad idea after all.
