Zohran Mamdani showed his affection for English soccer team Arsenal this week, after wearing a custom robe in tribute to the side at an Eid celebration in New York.
Mamdani, who is NYC’s first Muslim mayor, debuted the custom kurta as he joined worshippers, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in the Bronx on Wednesday afternoon.
A kurta is a traditional garment commonly worn by Muslims that falls to the knees and has a collar and long sleeves.
The outfit featured the team’s away jersey – a dark blue shirt with a zig-zag pattern, along with red lines on the sleeves – which had been modified into a robe.
Mamdani has often voiced his support for the English soccer team, who recently ended their 22-year wait to lift the Premier League title.
In a 2025 interview with Vulture, Mamdani revealed how he came to love the club.
Zohran Mamdani attended a New York Eid celebration in a custom Arsenal-themed robe
The New York City mayor wore the robe as he prayed alongside worshippers in the Bronx
Arsenal recently ended their 22-year wait to win the Premier League title
‘I came up as a fan in the early 2000s, and it was my uncle who introduced me to the team,’ he said.
‘I was born in Kampala, Uganda, in East Africa, and my dad’s family is from East Africa, and Arsenal was one of the first teams to have a number of African players: Lauren, Kolo Toure, Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Eboue, Alex Song.
‘Over the years, [then-manager] Arsene Wenger transformed what English soccer looked like.’
Mamdani was recently spotted alongside Spike Lee and Jason Sudeikis at a Brooklyn bar, as the trio celebrated Arsenal’s long-awaited Premier League title victory.
Meanwhile, a clip of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wearing a hijab at the Eid celebration in New York City sparked conservative backlash online.
A short clip of AOC speaking at the celebration while Mamdani stands behind her motionlessly looking forward has been making the rounds online, garnering hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of comments across social media platforms.
Conservative observers have criticized the congresswoman as hypocritical for donning the religious garment.
‘AOC wearing a hijab exposes the total moral bankruptcy of the radical left,’ an angry user on X wrote.
