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We love Arsenal and Thierry Henry, East Africans say in 91Èȱ¬ poll
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Thierry Henry is the most popular UK Premiership footballer in Kenya and Tanzania, according to an informal poll conducted by the 91Èȱ¬ Swahili service.
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Nearly 3,000 Swahili speakers were quizzed during a 91Èȱ¬ roadshow which toured 12 towns in Kenya and Tanzania - and an overwhelming number were fans of Arsenal Football Club and described Thierry Henry as their favourite player.
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Told of the response, an Arsenal spokesperson said: "As a club, we are thrilled so many football fans in Africa pick Arsenal and Thierry Henry as their favourite Premier League club and player.Ìý
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"We work hard to maintain links with supporters worldwide, through community outreach projects and supporter initiatives, and hope that those links grow stronger over the comings seasons."
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The poll was designed to inform the 91Èȱ¬ Swahili service's new English Premier League football programme, 91Èȱ¬ Ulimwengu Wa Soka (91Èȱ¬ World Of Football).
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It asked participants whether they watched the English Premier League, and who their favourite teams and players were.
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Almost 90 per cent of those who took part in the poll said they watched the English Premier League with Arsenal and Thierry Henry proving to be the favourite in the towns of Kakamega, Kisumu, Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombassa in Kenya and Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Moshi, Mwanza, and Tanga in Tanzania.
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In Kenya the second most popular team were Chelsea (15%) followed closely by Manchester United (14%).
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Didier Drogba, Kanu and Samuel Eto were the only African footballers to make the top ten favourite players list alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabregas, Frank Lampard, Ryan Giggs, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney.
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In Tanzania, Manchester United was the second most popular team (23%) ahead of Chelsea (12%).
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Didier Drogba was the only African footballer to make the top ten favourite players list, which also included Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney.
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91Èȱ¬ Swahili has almost 5.1 million weekly listeners in Kenya and 12.9 million weekly listeners in Tanzania.
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It took its 91Èȱ¬ - Your Compass to the World roadshow to major towns so it could meet listeners face-to-face and debate with them and local newsmakers the issues that matter.
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91Èȱ¬ Swahili broadcast a live half-hour from each town via their evening programme, Dira ya Dunia. It met around 38,000 people in total and toured 2,197km (1,373 miles).
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The most popular live event took place in at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where 10,000 people came to meet the team and take part in the live programme.
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The second most popular live event took place in Mombasa, Kenya, which was attended by 5,000 people.
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Throughout the roadshow 1,250 t-shirts, 1,250 caps, 3,000 pens and 10,000 postcards were given away promoting 91Èȱ¬ Swahili, its frequencies and its text number.
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In addition to the football questions, the poll also asked what people thought of 91Èȱ¬ Swahili and its news and current affairs output.
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Asked why they came to the roadshow, 34% of those polled said they came to specifically meet the 91Èȱ¬ presenters and 21% said they hoped to meet 91Èȱ¬ presenters again face-to-face - indicating an appetite for more on-the-ground activity.
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On what topics most people would like to discuss in the future, tribalism and politics (16%) came top, closely followed by HIV/Aids (13%) and sport (12%).
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Questionnaire statistics
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 85% of the respondents were male
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64% of respondents were aged 30 or under
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27% of respondents declared themselves self-employed Ìý
34% of respondents attended the roadshow to meet 91Èȱ¬ presenters with 31% coming to learn more about the 91Èȱ¬ Ìý
39% of respondents enjoyed meeting the 91Èȱ¬ most about the roadshow with 33% enjoying the entertainment most
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The most requested thing people wanted more of in the future was seeing the presenters live (21%) Ìý
The topics most people requested to be discussed in the future on 91Èȱ¬ Swahili were tribalism/politics (16%), HIV/AIDS (13%) and sport (12%)
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89% of respondents watch the English Premier League
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Arsenal was overwhelmingly the most popular team in both countries and Thierry Henry the most popular player
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Notes to Editors
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The questionnaires were completed between Monday 7 August and Sunday 20 August 2006. They were distributed by and completed in the presence of marketing agency Access Leo Burnett.
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91Èȱ¬ World Service
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