L ike him or not, there is no doubt that New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s passion for certain issues is electric, and that passion played a large part in him getting elected. But today, two of his biggest passions are on a collision course.
On one hand, Mamdani is now arguably the US’s most high-profile supporter of English Premier League champions Arsenal. A superfan since he was a child , he has put the Gunners into the American spotlight more than anyone since becoming mayor. The Empire State Building gleamed in Arsenal’s red and white when they won the Premier League title. He wrote an essay about what Arsenal’s championship means to him, talks about Arsenal at press conferences and interviews and inaugurated Thierry Henry Way near Times Square in honor of the Arsenal legend.
But another of Mamdani’s passions – standing up against genocide and for human rights – is now presenting a problem for the mayor’s Arsenal fandom. One prominent part of Arsenal’s current image is deeply disturbing, and it presents a major opportunity for Mamdani.
Arsenal’s chief sponsor is Emirates Airlines, owned by the Emirates Group, a state-owned Dubai-based holding company. Emirates is on the front of every jersey, and the team plays at Emirates Stadium in London. The United Arab Emirates has spent more than $1bn sponsoring the team, including expanding its contract through 2033 to more than $100m per season. Arsenal is the UAE’s second biggest sports investment globally.
The trouble is the UAE is also sponsoring a genocidal militia in Sudan, where war has created the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 14 million people , or a quarter of the country’s population, forced to flee their homes, and 21 million people facing acute hunger. The UAE has provided the militia, known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with weapons and killer drones , according to numerous investigations . In fact, the UAE is the RSF’s biggest supplier of weapons and drones.
And therein lies the rub. The UAE is engaging in one of the world’s largest sportswashing campaigns in an attempt to clean up its image, including with Mamdani’s beloved Arsenal. The UAE’s sportswashing isn’t limited to the Gunners. We calculated that the UAE government has spent more than $5.2bn on sponsoring sports teams and leagues around the world, including Manchester City, the NBA champion New York Knicks (a team Mamdani also cheers for), the Emirates NBA Cup and Formula One . There are multiple other football, basketball, cycling, rugby, cricket and UAE-sponsored teams as well.
The good news is that Arsenal’s ownership isn’t blind to abusive sportswashing relationships. Last year, the club announced it was cutting its sleeve sponsor, Visit Rwanda, after the country’s invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the humanitarian catastrophe that ensued as a result. More than 8 million people have been displaced from their homes, as Rwanda has invaded the DRC and commanded the deadly M23 militia that has tortured victims , engaged in extensive sexual violence and enlisted child soldiers . The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust weighed in on the issue, following campaign initiatives such as Gunners for Peace, and the owners changed course.
Now it’s time for Arsenal to tackle their bigger sportswashing sponsor, and Mamdani can play a key role. As one of the world’s most visible Arsenal fans, his voice would have an important impact on the club’s decision makers. The club’s owners are American, Josh and Stan Kroenke, and they have stood up in the past for human rights – for instance, calling for a lifetime ban on former Los Angeles Clippers owner Don Sterling for making racist remarks.
Mamdani could make the Kroenkes and the rest of the Arsenal board aware of the UAE’s sportswashing and call on them either publicly or privately to move on to another sponsor because of the genocidal militia the UAE is sponsoring in Sudan. The club is, after all, awash in cash after winning the league and reaching the final of the Champions League, earning $411m in total, a record for Arsenal. It is now reportedly the most profitable football club in England. So they don’t need the Emirati money.
Importantly, the UAE is not the only game in town for football sponsors – there are viable alternatives. Snapdragon, a Qualcomm tech company, pays approximately the same amount for sponsoring Manchester United as the Emirates pays Arsenal , and automaker Jeep and telecom company T-Mobile pay Juventus and Bayern Munich just a hair under.
Arsenal canceling the deal would also have a meaningful impact on the UAE and on the genocide unfolding in Sudan . The UAE is very sensitive to public image, and a cancelled Arsenal deal would be a major public relations blow. Mamdani’s intervention could have major human rights implications.
Mamdani is passionate about human rights, combating genocide and supporting his favorite team. Urging the club’s leadership to change its sponsor from the UAE would combine all three passions into one and potentially have a positive impact on the world’s deadliest humanitarian crisis. New Yorkers and Arsenal fans alike should encourage Mamdani to weigh in with the club on this important issue.
Sasha Lezhnev is Senior Policy Advisor at The Sentry , where John Prendergast is Co-Founder.
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