{"id":3163,"date":"2026-05-20T03:22:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T03:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/?p=3163"},"modified":"2026-05-20T04:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:15:09","slug":"raila-arsenal-messages-flow-as-team-wins-epl-after-22-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/raila-arsenal-messages-flow-as-team-wins-epl-after-22-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Raila Arsenal Messages Flow As Team Wins EPL after 22 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As Arsenal Football Club clinched the English Premier League title for the 2025\/26 season \u2014 ending a 22-year drought \u2014 tributes poured in from across Kenya, with many dedicating the historic victory to the late opposition icon Raila Odinga, a passionate lifelong Gooner.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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The outpouring began prominently with Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy & Maritime Affairs, <\/span>Hassan Ali Joho<\/span><\/span>, who posted on X:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBaba we finally made it! ARSENAL
\nWE are the Champions.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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Accompanied by celebratory images, Joho\u2019s message captured the sentiment of thousands of Kenyan Arsenal fans who saw the triumph as a long-awaited gift for \u201cBaba\u201d (Raila), who passed away in October 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Raila Odinga was a well-known Arsenal supporter, frequently pictured at the Emirates Stadium and openly cheering for the Gunners. His death last year triggered an emotional wave among local fans, many of whom began dedicating Arsenal\u2019s campaign to his memory. <\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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The club\u2019s eventual victory has reignited those tributes, with social media filled with messages blending football joy and remembrance. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Widespread Tributes<\/span><\/span><\/span>Other fans echoed similar sentiments online. One wrote: \u201cIf Baba Raila Odinga was still alive, he would be the happiest person seeing Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Another added: \u201cBaba Raila Odinga left us in the hands of Arsenal and that\u2019s where we are.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>Posts also recalled shared moments, such as Joho and Raila watching games together. While some reactions mixed politics with football \u2014 including criticism of Joho\u2019s post \u2014 the dominant tone remained one of celebration \u201cFor Baba.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Arsenal secured the title with a game to spare, finishing atop the table on 82 points after strong performances, including a decisive win over Burnley. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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The victory sparked fireworks at the Emirates and nationwide rejoicing among Gooners in Kenya.<\/span><\/span><\/span>A Poetic Legacy<\/span><\/span><\/span>Raila\u2019s support for Arsenal mirrored his resilient political journey, and fans have noted poetic timing in the club\u2019s success following his passing. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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From visits to his home by Arsenal supporters to online dedications, the late leader\u2019s influence on Kenyan football culture remains evident.<\/span><\/span><\/span>As one fan summed it up: \u201cCongratulations to Arsenal\u2026 Baba is happy. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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May his soul continue resting in peace.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>The flood of messages underscores how deeply Raila Odinga\u2019s legacy intertwined with everyday Kenyan passions \u2014 politics, community, and the beautiful game.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As Arsenal Football Club clinched the English Premier League title for the 2025\/26 season \u2014 ending a 22-year drought \u2014 tributes poured in from across Kenya, with many dedicating the historic victory to the late opposition icon Raila Odinga, a passionate lifelong Gooner. The outpouring began prominently with Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy & […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stateupdate.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Raila-Odinga-Arsenal-e1773303466265-660x330-1.jpg?fit=660%2C330&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc68Dd-P1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3163"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3187,"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3163\/revisions\/3187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateupdate.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}