Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard can expect a warm welcome when he comes with Norway to New York to play in the World Cup next summer. Newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani is an avid football fan, such a big fan that he took out his wallet to help a club in trouble.
When asked which club, his answer was Arsenal, where he even, before his campaign got the better of him, traveled to London for matches at the Emirates.
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Tomorrow, Saturday, Arsenal, probably without their captain Martin Ødegaard, who is still injured (but will be back soon), travels to the Stadium of Light to face surprise side Sunderland.
Immediately after the victory, Mamdani was put out of Sky News’ question because he for several years followed their broadcasts to see news about Arsenal.
The newly elected mayor of New York is a shareholder in a football club.
The newly elected mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, is a shareholder in a club in one of the top divisions of European football. Mamdani, 34 years old, became the city’s youngest mayor since 1892 and the first Muslim in history to hold this position.
The Democrat defeated previously scandal-ridden New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani focused his campaign on living conditions and housing issues, winning support through his youthful energy and charismatic style. The new mayor will also have sporting events to deal with, especially the World Cup in football next summer.
The World Cup final will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is located just outside New York. This means that there is a high chance that Mamdani could sit next to America’s dangerous clown of a president, Donald Trump, during the fight next July.
However, this will not be Mamdani’s first involvement in football. Already in 2012, he told journalist Sid Lowe that he had bought shares in the Spanish club Real Oviedo, which now plays in La Liga.
Mamdani wrote on social media: “Just bought a stock, maybe Oviedo’s first shareholder based in Maine?”
In November 2012, football fans around the world rallied to help save Real Oviedo, who had fallen into financial difficulties. The club needed to raise two million euros to avoid closure, and former stars such as Santi Cazorla, Juan Mata, and Michu all invested to keep the club afloat.
Soon after, Carlos Slim, who at the time was the world’s richest man, invested two million euros, which eventually saved the club.
Real Oviedo returned to the Spanish second division in 2015, after a 13-year absence. They came close to a return to La Liga for the first time in the 2023/24 season, but lost 2-1 on aggregate to Espanyol in the final.
However, they finally secured promotion to the top division last season, when they beat Mirandés 3-1 after extra time in the final.
Real Oviedo have struggled to establish themselves in La Liga.
They are currently in 19th place with eight points from eleven games, but they are still only one point away from safety.
Their first home game back in the league was against Real Madrid, where Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in a 3-0 away win.
Since then, Oviedo have taken their first home win against Real Sociedad, but they later suffered a defeat against Barcelona.
Their only other win so far this season came in dramatic fashion against Valencia, where they scored two goals in one minute to secure a 2-1 comeback victory.
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