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| Moi Avenue(street); Mombasa |
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| Private beach; Mombasa |
In Exactly 83 days (two months and 23 days) and counting, the whole world will come to a standstill as gunners of all walks of life will put their boat to sail as they converge in Mombasa, Kenya; the coastal city of the great East African nation for the biggest, deadliest, mother of all meet and greet Easter festivals.
This is going to be the third edition of the Arsenal fans festival which will be hosted by Arsenal Kenya, with the first edition (Easter of 2017) being held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania hosted by Arsenal Tanzania and the second edition (Easter of 2018) which was held in Kigali, Rwanda with the hosts being Arsenal Rwanda.
Among the visiting guest nations for the 2019 Easter festivals include: Arsenal Zimbabwe, Arsenal Uganda, Arsenal Rwanda, Arsenal Tanzania, Arsenal Ghana, Arsenal Nigeria (who have confirmed their attendance); and Arsenal Zambia, Arsenal Ethiopia & Arsenal South Sudan who are yet to confirm their attendance.
It all started as an East African affair birthed on Facebook, where a group of Arsenal die hard gunners interacting online decided to go a step further and progressed the conversation to a WhatsApp group to put words into action. With the able leadership of Mr. Dennis Njau; the national coordinator, official contact person and president of Arsenal Kenya, a WhatsApp group was created with the tittle Arsenal East Africa on 3rd November 2016. The aim of the group was to bring Arsenal fans from East Africa sphere together, and share activities that would see fans from different nations visiting each other and finally put faces into voices/chats/ hiding behind the keyboards.
The Arsenal East Africa group was later renamed to Arsenal Africa after Arsenal fans from the South and the West of the continent showed interest in joining the East African fan base. Arsenal Zimbabwe, Arsenal Zambia and Arsenal Ghana have since been added to the group. With the fourth edition of the Arsenal fans festivals being scheduled for Kampala, Uganda in the Easter of 2020, it is anticipated that there will be more members of other African countries who will be in attendance.
It is from the famous tagline by Arsenal fans; Be A Gooner, Be A Giver, that saw the concept of Charity and giving back to the community incorporated as the main pillar for all Easter festival editions. In 2017, during the official launch of Arsenal Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, the host nation and visiting nations supported Watoto Wetu Tanzania by donating foodstuffs, clothing and monetary support. In brief, Watoto Wetu Tanzania is an orphanage and a non-governmental organization(NGO) founded in 1998 by Mr. Evance Tegete (its present day director) that provides a home to vulnerable children and youths in Tanzania.
Similarly, it is from this same spirit of giving back to the community that Arsenal fans attending the second edition of the festivals in Kigali made monetary donations and helped to support victims of genocide in Rwanda by buying roofing materials and also taking part in fixing those same roofing materials. From the famous Umuganda, where every last Saturday of each month the people of Rwanda are required to take part in community work, Arsenal fans joined the mayor who was the official government representative to launch this charitable initiative hugely organized by gunners. In attendance to grace the occasion was also the 2018 outgoing miss Rwanda who was awarded with an Arsenal jersey from one of the host nation. The word Umuganda roughly translates to ‘coming together in common purpose’.
Even with the underway plans for the 2019 Easter festivals in Mombasa already on the acceleration gear, the preliminary details are out to facilitate travel preparations. They are indicated as below (subject to changes as new developments arise):
- Ø Friday, 19th April: Arrival of visiting fans, hotel check-ins and an introduction party & entertainment later in the evening.
- Ø Saturday, 20th April: Charity and cleaning work, visits to the famous historical tourists’ sites in Mombasa and thereafter diner and a pool party by the beach at sundown.
- Ø Sunday, 21st April: Visits to more historical sites as well as engage the visitors in water activities like snorkeling, jet skiing among other beach activities.
NB: All visitors (Kenyans & non Kenyans) are reminded that they will be required to carry with them their identification documents i.e. national identity (ID) and Passport alongside extra cash for the site visit charges.
Arsenal Kenya as the host nation, is looking forward to have more than 100 fans from visiting nations and more than 200 members of the Arsenal Kenya. This is exclusively an Arsenal fans affair and football supporters from other premier league (EPL) clubs are unfortunately not invited. #TwendeMombasa and #ArsenalAfricaFestival are the two official hashtags used to popularize, inform and give any new updates for the festival in Mombasa.
Lisa Biwott is a lifetime goonerette, who attended both first and the second editions of the Arsenal Easter festivals in Dar es Salaam and Kigali. She is also a freelance writer and a blogger at Upclose & Personal with LB
