Kenyans on Sunday were left pondering an extraordinary proposal to honour the late Raila Odinga through a friendly game involving the Harambee Stars and Raila's beloved English Premier League club, Arsenal.
The idea of a friendly match was floated during Raila's burial in Bondo, where Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga openly urged President William Ruto's government to extend an invitation to the EPL giants once the Talanta Stadium was complete.
“Your Excellency, we are only asking you for one more honour. The big stadium we are building with a 60,000-seat capacity, we call it in English, Magnificent. As a party, we request that it be named Raila Odinga Talanta Stadium," Wanga said, drawing applause from the crowd.
She added, “And since you are also an Arsenal fan, next year, when it is completed, because Baba was Arsenal and you are an Arsenal fan, please bring Arsenal here to play against Harambee Stars in the Raila Odinga Memorial Cup."
Completion of the Talanta Sports City was initially slated for December 2025, but the timeline was recently revised, and the mega-stadium is expected to be ready sometime in 2026.
Can Harambee Stars Play Arsenal
But how realistic is the prospect of playing the Arsenal Football Club in Kenya? The entire process of hosting a club of Arsenal's stature is extremely rigorous, to the point where it is almost impossible.
Firstly, the Football Kenya Federation, or a licensed event promoter, would need to draft a formal proposal which would include the match's purpose, potential dates, sponsorship plans, budget estimates and travel logistics for Arsenal players and staff.
Arsenal would then need to be approached either via their international department or agents and football event companies with existing ties to the club and the English Premier League.
It is also worth noting that Premier League clubs like Arsenal rarely approve travel for friendlies mid-season due to their demands and the tight schedule of English top-flight matches. Also, such clubs are typically heavily booked right from the start of the season, meaning in the unlikely event a random invite to Kenya was approved, it would have to take place several seasons down the line.
Further, approval of such a friendly match is not only reliant on the club, as they would also need approval from the Premier League, the FA and the club's board of directors.
Arsenal would also need assurances on safety, player insurance and the quality of training facilities in Kenya.
Cost
Another major factor is cost, as Premier League clubs reportedly charge upwards of Ksh64.57 million (USD500,000) to Ksh387 million (USD3 million) in appearance fees, excluding flights, accommodation, insurance and event management costs.
To foot a bill of this magnitude, organisers of the friendly would have to incorporate sponsorships, pull some government funding, make media rights deals and hope for strong ticket sales.
The closest Kenya has come to hosting a Premier League team came in 2017, when Premier League club Everton played Kenya Premier League giants Gor Mahia in Tanzania.
At the time, the pre-season friendly was relatively easy to broker, particularly since the game was sponsored by a betting company which happened to be sponsoring the two clubs.
