Ann Riya Joseph, a die-hard supporter of the English Premier League giants Arsenal FC, took leave from her job as an IT designer in Mumbai to attend the screening of her favourite club’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) final against Paris Saint-Germain in Kochi last Saturday.

And it proved worthwhile, despite Arsenal’s defeat in penalty shoot-out. The youngster had the night of her life at the screening organised by the Arsenal Kerala Supporters Club (AKSC) — officially recognised by AFC in 2016 — at the largest hall in Hotel Le Meridien, where over a thousand equally passionate fans from across the State and beyond converged before a giant screen.

“It was our biggest night in European football since featuring in the UCL final way back in 2006, and it was a surreal experience. Yes, we lost the final, but the gathering gifted us lifelong friendships with fellow Gooners. This was by far the biggest and best screening I have ever attended,” said Ann.

Biggest screening

AKSC claimed it was easily the biggest screening organised by a football fan club in India and probably among the largest globally outside the match venue and Arsenal’s home city of North London. “We initially planned a smaller event for 350–400 fans in a smaller hall at the hotel. But once Arsenal won the English Premier League — our first in 22 years — demand surged, with registrations rising by 70–80 every day. We were forced to shift to a bigger hall and eventually close registrations once they touched the 1,000 mark. The final count, including families, was 1,014,” said Tony George, chairman of AKSC.

K. Yahya, who timed his leave from a job in Riyadh to attend the screening, travelled by train to Kochi with his family from Azhikode, while a group of 30-odd fans from Malappuram hired a bus. “It felt almost like being in a stadium. Fans chanted, waved scarves and flags, painted their faces in Arsenal colours, and lived every moment of the match together. Many women who accompanied their more fanatic husbands were converted into die-hard fans, swept up by the emotional pull of the event. My wife’s pulse was racing like the rest of us during the penalty shoot-outs,” he recalled.

By the time he arrived for the screening, K. Prajish, treasurer of AKSC, had already been part of another historic first for a fan club in Kerala when he organised an open bus tour in his home town Kozhikode to celebrate Arsenal’s English Premier League title on May 24. “We hired a KSRTC double-decker bus, decked it with Arsenal banners, and took an hour-long ride to the beach. Nearly 70 fans joined in with red flares, confetti, and flags. It was a first, and reels of our parade went viral on social media, garnering over one million views,” he said.