Why Ruto should have brought Arsenal to Nairobi to give Raila Odinga the best tribute

The planned visit by Bayern Munich and Ajax to Nairobi offers Kenya an opportunity to showcase its new sporting infrastructure to the world. But there is another question worth asking: would a visit by Arsenal have carried a deeper emotional meaning for Kenyans seeking to honour the late Raila Odinga?

For a man whose political legacy stretched across generations, Raila’s connection with football offered another dimension to his public life. Arsenal, one of the world’s most recognisable football clubs, has a particularly strong following in Kenya, making the idea of bringing the Gunners to Nairobi an appealing way to connect the country’s sporting ambitions with the memory of a towering national figure.

President William Ruto’s decision to welcome Bayern Munich and Ajax for the anticipated on Tuesday, January 5, 2027, showdown at Raila Odinga International Stadium can be viewed through the lens of international exposure, commercial opportunities and the opening of a major sporting facility. However, the choice also invites a discussion about the personal and cultural symbolism of a tribute to Raila.

Raila Odinga’s affection for Arsenal was well known, while President William Ruto has also spoken publicly about their shared support for the club.

Raila’s relationship with Arsenal was not simply a matter of wearing the club’s colours. He spoke about his football loyalties publicly, followed the team’s fortunes and enjoyed debating football with fellow supporters.

In a 2017 local radio interview, Raila explained how he eventually became a devoted Arsenal supporter after following other clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool.

His explanation was characteristically candid. He said he had been a Manchester United supporter before the club’s fans became associated with violence and were banned from attending matches for a period. He subsequently switched allegiances to Arsenal and remained loyal to the North London side.

His football interests were not limited to England. Raila had links to German football from his time studying in Germany and supported clubs including Hannover 96 and Bayern Munich. In Kenya, he was a passionate supporter of Gor Mahia and had a longstanding association with the club.

That history makes the debate over which European club should inaugurate a stadium bearing his name more interesting than a simple argument over which team is bigger.

President Ruto announced on October 28, 2026, that Bayern Munich and Ajax would play at Raila Odinga International Stadium on January 5, 2027, as part of its official opening.

Ruto explained the choice partly through Raila’s links to Germany, where he studied engineering, and Ajax’s reputation for developing young talent. Both clubs also have impressive European histories, with Bayern having won six European Cups or Champions League titles and Ajax four.

Those are legitimate reasons for selecting the two clubs. Yet there is a different way of approaching a stadium named after an individual: rather than concentrating principally on his education or the prestige of the visiting teams, organisers could consider the club that most visibly represented his everyday sporting passion.

Arsenal would have offered a direct link between the man being honoured and the football occasion being organised in his name.

For the supporters who remember Raila in an Arsenal shirt, discussing the team’s performances or watching matches with family, seeing the Gunners at the new stadium would have connected a national monument with a recognisable part of his personal life.

One of the strongest arguments for an Arsenal-themed opening comes from Ruto himself.

In October 2025, during the English Premier League trophy tour at State House, the President recalled their football conversations and acknowledged Raila’s support for the club.

Ruto said: “Unfortunately, we lost one of our big Arsenal fans, the Honorable Raila Odinga, and we really feel that we lost somebody who was always in the game with us,”

He also recalled their conversations about the team’s performances: “Whenever we were not discussing difficult stuff, we used to talk about how not so well we (Arsenal) were doing,”

These recollections provide a particularly strong basis for the Arsenal argument. The connection was not merely that Raila supported a famous English club; it was that football offered a shared point of conversation between two men who had spent years on opposite sides of Kenya’s political contests.

An Arsenal visit could therefore have been presented as a continuation of that shared sporting bond, translated into a public tribute.

Arsenal honoured Raila in a special matchday programme for its Premier League match against Liverpool on January 8, 2026. The section, titled Arsenal Remembers, acknowledged his long-standing support for the club.

The commemorative material subsequently reached Nairobi and was received by ODM communications director Philip Etale in March 2026, according to The Standard.

The tribute demonstrated that Raila’s relationship with Arsenal had been recognised beyond Kenya.

An invitation to Nairobi could have built on that recognition. The club could have participated in a commemorative ceremony, met Raila’s family and supporters, or dedicated part of its visit to celebrating his life.

Such a gesture would have carried a different meaning from an ordinary international friendly: it would have linked the club’s recognition of a deceased supporter with the opening of a major Kenyan sporting facility named after him.

There is, however, an important distinction. Arsenal’s earlier tribute does not establish that the club was available for January 2027 or that it was approached and declined. No such conclusion should be drawn without evidence.

The opening of Raila Odinga International Stadium is also an opportunity to consider the place of local football in a national sporting celebration.

Arsenal’s visit could have been designed to include more than the headline fixture. A programme featuring youth academies, grassroots coaches, Kenyan football legends and local clubs would have given the occasion a wider developmental purpose.

It could also have included a celebration of Gor Mahia, the club Raila supported at home, alongside the Arsenal connection that defined much of his international football identity.

This would not necessarily mean replacing international football with local football. Rather, it would have allowed the two to complement each other.

A high-profile European club could attract international attention, while Kenyan clubs and young players could benefit from exposure, coaching exchanges and organised community events.

However, Bayern Munich had a connection to Raila’s years in Germany, and he had previously supported the club. Ajax, meanwhile, has a long-standing reputation for developing young players. Ruto cited those connections when explaining the invitation.

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