A New York mayor attended Eid al-Adha prayers in the Bronx wearing an Arsenal-themed kurta modeled on the club’s 2025-26 away shirt colors and lightning-bolt design. Born and raised in Uganda, he is New York’s first Muslim and Asian-American mayor and began supporting Arsenal at age 10 after receiving fridge magnets featuring Gunners players. He celebrated Arsenal’s Premier League title triumph and is known for recalling obscure 1990s footballers. He is also a shareholder in Spanish club Real Oviedo, which launched a share-buying campaign in 2012 during bankruptcy. He commented on FIFA dynamic pricing for 2026 World Cup tickets and announced a lottery for 1,000 New York residents to buy $50 tickets, with the entry limit reached within three minutes. The World Cup final is scheduled at MetLife Stadium between June 11 and July 19.
"The Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani took his Arsenal super-fandom up a notch on Wednesday when he attended Eid al-Adha prayers in the Bronx wearing an Arsenal themed kurta. Images of Mamdani's kurta - a traditional loose-fitting tunic - based on Arsenal's 2025-26 navy and red lightning bolt away shirt, went viral. Mamdani was born and raised in Uganda and is New York's first Muslim and Asian-American mayor."
"He began supporting Arsenal at the age of 10 when his uncle bought him a set of fridge magnets with the images of Gunners stars including Sylvain Wiltord, David Seaman, Sol Campbell, and Thierry Henry. He may be the mayor of the biggest city in the United States, but the 34-year-old delighted in Arsenal's Premier League title triumph in much the same way as residents of Highbury and Islington."
"His football fanaticism is far from limited to Arsenal though. His social media followers lapped up his ability to recall obscure 90s footballers, and the fact he is a shareholder in Spanish side Real Oviedo. The politician was one of 20,000 people to get involved in an international share-buying campaign the club launched when facing bankruptcy in 2012."
"Mamdani, elected New York mayor in November, has also spoken out about Fifa's use of dynamic pricing for 2026 World Cup tickets. He recently announced a lottery for 1,000 New York residents to win the chance to purchase $50 (37.30) tournament tickets. The 50,000-person daily limit for entering the lottery was reached within three minutes on its opening day."
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]