{"id":53942,"date":"2025-04-19T08:56:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T08:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/glamour-and-glitz-as-african-arsenal-fans-meet-in-kigali-photos\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T10:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T10:37:11","slug":"glamour-and-glitz-as-african-arsenal-fans-meet-in-kigali-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/glamour-and-glitz-as-african-arsenal-fans-meet-in-kigali-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Glamour and glitz as African Arsenal fans meet in Kigali (PHOTOS)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dignitaries from various sectors graced the opening ceremony, including Rwanda\u2019s Minister of State of Sports, Rwego Ngarambe, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, Chief Tourism Officer at RDB, Irene Murerwa and presidents of national sports federations.<\/p>\n<p>The event also drew prominent fan leaders like Bigango Valentin of the Rwanda Arsenal Fans Community (RAFC). At the heart of the festival was a powerful message from Minister Rwego Ngarambe, who called on African fans not only to support Arsenal but to invest in the future of African football.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are Arsenal fans from different African countries, let\u2019s give ourselves the mission to do everything possible so that one day we have players from our own countries playing for this great club,\u201d he urged.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the official speeches and celebrations, the festival offered a packed program, including visits to iconic sites like the Ntarama Genocide Memorial and Amahoro Stadium. Fans also committed to giving back, with planned donations to Aheza Healing and Career Center and a joint tree-planting activity with Orion BBC.<\/p>\n<p>Social events added even more sparkle to the weekend, with friendly matches, tourism excursions, and a highly anticipated group screening of the Arsenal vs. Ipswich Town match on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>The festival, last hosted in Rwanda in 2018, returned with even more energy and international presence, welcoming fans from Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n<p>This gathering also underscored the ongoing partnership between Rwanda and Arsenal through the Visit Rwanda campaign, proudly featured on the club\u2019s left sleeve since 2018, a symbol of growing ties between global football and African ambition.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85969 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0186-ecd32.jpg\" alt=\"State Minister of Sports, Rwego Ngarambe, who called on African fans not only to support Arsenal but to invest in the future of African football.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85968 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0170-2-5de71.jpg\" alt=\"The event also drew prominent fan leaders like Bigango Valentin of the Rwanda Arsenal Fans Community (RAFC).\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85978 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0416-3-22152.jpg\" alt=\"Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe attended the festival launch.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85980 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9791-a9dd4.jpg\" alt=\"Arsenal fans from Tanzania also graced the occasion. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85971 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0249-b7b97.jpg\" alt=\"Chief Tourism Officer at RDB, Irene Murerwa was also present.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85963 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9871-6bc74.jpg\" alt=\"This gathering also underscored the ongoing partnership between Rwanda and Arsenal through the Visit Rwanda campaign.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85962 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9903-55ca8.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85964 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9920-2-290a0.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85965 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-04-18_at_22.16_01_3e4b76fd-71179.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85966 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0027-2-b03d5.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85967 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0017-4b296.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85970 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0194-2-a5d8e.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85972 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0255-3ea30.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85973 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0310-2-20c27.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85974 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0339-45277.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85975 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0362-cfea4.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85976 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0383-2ac42.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85977 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a0392-f08f5.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85979 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9714-097db.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85981 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9823-2-4bc7c.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85982 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9838-0c354.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85983 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/000a9860-2-f37ac.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kigali became a hub of excitement and celebration as Arsenal fans from across Africa gathered for the 6th edition of the Arsenal Africa Fans Festival, which officially kicked off on April 18, 2025, at Kigali Universe. The three-day event brings together over ten countries in a colorful display of football passion, unity, and purpose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":2000085961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-53942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000085961,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-576.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-576.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-576.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-576.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-576.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-576.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000085961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53942"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=53942"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=53942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}