Arsenal Mumbai Supporters' Club: The Story behind Mumbai Gooners

One of the strongest teams in England's top division (Premier League), Arsenal have won 13 league titles and enjoyed a lot of success over the years with one particular season being the most memorable in club history as back in 2003-04, the 'Gunners' (club's nickname) went an entire Premier League season without losing a single game to win the Premier League title. 

Managed by Arsene Wenger, the team was a formidable force and rivals like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool were left chasing the team from North London. But after that season, Arsenal haven't won the Premier League and have fallen behind the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United in England and Europe. Although their legendary manager Arsene Wenger left the club in 2018, Unai Emery's arrival has sparked new hope with a new look team setting up well for the 2019-20 season.

With fan following for clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea being strong in India, Arsenal have a dedicated fan base across the country and Mumbai is a special city for the football club with genuine fans who love the sport and cheer the team on in their own style. Let's have a look at the Mumbai Gooners - Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club (AMSC) - the official supporters club recognised by Arsenal FC.

Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club's journey began in May 2006 when a group of young Gooners in Mumbai started the Arsenal Mumbai Fan Club page on a widely used social networking website of that time - Orkut. The page started attracting other Gooners based in Mumbai and in a couple of weeks, more than 100 members joined the fan club. 

As the group became viral and many more members joined in, a Footie meet was decided to be held only for Arsenal fans in Juhu beach on a Sunday morning. This was the 1st Footie meet by AMFC held on 23rd December, 2006  which later on became a huge hit. As the number of fans who attended the Footie meets starting increasing, AMFC shifted their Footie meets to Shivaji Park and then to Turfs & from turfs to even Cooperage Stadiums or Somaiya Football Ground to accommodate more fans from different parts of the city.
 

The popularity of the Footie meets grew so much that one of the widely watch Football shows in India - Football Focus on ESPN also talked about Gooners in Mumbai meeting up every Sunday and pictures of the group were also telecasted.

Arsenal Screenings

AMFC also began screening key Arsenal matches since early 2007. The first screening was Arsenal Vs Manchester United on 21st of January, 2007 where Thierry Henry scored a goal in the injury time and won the game for Arsenal. The screening is one of the most cherished moments for the Mumbai Gooners. Since then, AMFC decided to screen all important matches for Arsenal in order to get more Gooners under one roof to watch the match.

The record numbers in footy meet was 600 twice in FA Cup final 2014 & 2015 which was huge.

Official Supporters Club recognition from Arsenal FC

In 2007, AMFC decided to apply for the official supporters club affiliation by Arsenal FC, UK. One of the AMFC members travelled to London to showcase AMFC's credentials and make a strong case for it. Finally after one year, In October 2008, Arsenal granted its affiliation as the official Supporters Club of Arsenal in Mumbai - It was first of its kind in India. AMFC soon became Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club.

Since then, AMSC has only grown. As of today, AMSC has over 1000 members, 4500+ Twitter followers, 2000+ Instagram followers & over 115,000+ likes on the Official Facebook page.

Also Read: LMSC: The Mumbai Reds Who'll Never Walk Alone

Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club's screening of the North London Derby (Arsenal v/s Spurs) dated 31st August, 2013 was rated one of the best in the world by Bleacher's Report. They rated Arsenal Mumbai as 6th Best place in the world outside London to watch an Arsenal game.

The main aim is to build a strong community for Gooners in Mumbai and keep supporting the Premier League club - ARSENAL FC!