Renowned sports influencer and Arsenal Fan Television (AFTV) founder Robbie Lyle has expressed disappointment over Kenya’s failure to translate its deep passion for football into success.
Lyle, 52, has also weighed in on the current performance of English Premier League (EPL) side Arsenal, stating that head coach Mikel Arteta should be sacked if he fails to deliver a trophy next season.
The life-long Arsenal FC supporter has also revealed that he would prefer to see Manchester United win the Europa League title rather than Arsenal’s bitter rivals in north London derby Tottenham Hotspur. Lyle was speaking on Saturday afternoon in Nairobi.
He is in Kenya for a seven-day visit alongside AFTV presenter Cecil Jee Thomas and other members of AFTV channel’s crew.
Lyle’s tour of Kenya is courtesy of gaming firm Betika, Serena Hotels, Kenya Airways, and Steam Energy Drink.
“I’m surprised (by Kenya’s persistent poor performance in football) when you see the passion of the fans in Kenya,” Lyle observed.
“The men’s team hasn’t done better over the years even in the Afcon (Africa Cup of Nations)… I’m surprised that we haven’t seen more (Victor) Wanyamas. Hopefully, we see more somewhere in the English Premier League,” said Lyle.
Kenya men’s football team, Harambee Stars have yet to qualify for the prestigious Fifa World Cup. While the team has qualified for six Afcons, it has never progressed past the group stage.
Last October, the Kenya Under-17 women’s football team ‘Junior Starlets’ made history, becoming the first Kenyan national football team to compete on the global stage after qualifying for the 2024 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup held in the Dominican Republic.
The team finished third in Group “C”, securing a memorable 2-1 win over Mexico in their final match.
Meanwhile, Wanyama remains the only Kenyan to have ever played in the EPL, something Lyle hopes can change soon. The midfielder turned out for Southampton (2013 to 2016) and Tottenham (2016 to 2020).
Renowned sports influencer and founder of Arsenal Fan TV (AFTV) Robbie Lyle (front), and sports broadcaster, Cecil Jee Thomas, arrive for a press briefing at Serena Hotel, Nairobi on May 10, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Lyle has advised that Kenya can grow its women’s fan base by putting more emphasis on development of the local grassroots football.
“What you’ve got to do is grow the game from the grassroots. First of all, get more women playing football. The more women play football then you start to push up. If you start to see success then more and more women will get involved and more and more people will want to watch it,” said Lyle, noting that women’s football is growing rapidly on the global scale.
Reflecting on Arsenal’s performance this season, Lyle noted that the team impressed in the Uefa Champions League but fell short in the EPL.
Compared to Liverpool, the renowned sports influencer pointed out that Arsenal were let down by a lack of serious activity in the January transfer window and a string of injuries to key players, including Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.
He singled out the striking department as an area that must be strengthened in the upcoming summer transfer window, asserting that Arteta should be shown the door if he fails to lead the Gunners to silverware next season.
“I don't think Mikel Arteta should be fired because of all the injuries the team faced in the ending sesason, but I think next season, if he doesn't win something, it's almost inevitable that he has to leave because he can't just be nearly getting there,” said AFTV founder.
“It's been very painful the last few years. Last year nearly, the year before nearly. It's a big season next year, we have to spend a lot of money in the summer and hopefully, we can get over the line.”
Arteta has yet to guide Arsenal to an EPL title since his appointment in December 2019. Liverpool won this season’s title with four matches to spare after they hammered Tottenham 5-1 on April 27. The Reds took their points tally to an unassailable 82.
Arsenal are second with 67 points. Last season, Arsenal finished second with 89 points behind Manchester City who topped with 91 points.
It was the same case in the 2022/23 campaign as Arsenal came second with 84 points behind Manchester City who topped with 89 points.
Expressing his preference for Manchester United to win the Europa League over Tottenham, Lyle said: “I think I would much rather have Man United win that than Spurs. I can't take the Spurs winning that. At least when I go to Man United, I can walk to the ground. When I go to Spurs, they're looking to kill me. I want them to lose,” he said.
