Football slowly became more than just watching matches. It started shaping how he travelled.
Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates. For most people, football is something that lives on a screen, a weekend match, a highlight reel, maybe a late-night group chat.
But for one Arsenal fan from Shah Alam, Rizal Redzuan, it quietly became something that followed him through most of his life. It started in 2001, when he was in Standard One and first found himself drawn to Arsenal. Not through a stadium or a big moment, but just as a kid discovering a team that somehow stuck. A year later, his sister returned from the UK with a jersey, simple, red, with “HENRY 14” printed on the back.
He still has it today. That jersey, in many ways, never really left his story. From Shah Alam to everywhere in between Over the years, life moved from Shah Alam to Petaling Jaya, then to the Gold Coast in Australia, and back again. But Arsenal stayed somewhere in the background through all of it.
Football slowly became more than just watching matches. It started shaping how he travelled. If there was a game happening somewhere, that often came first before anything else, even before the usual tourist spots. Stadiums before sightseeing.
Matches before monuments. The first time at the Emirates His first Arsenal match came on New Year’s Eve in 2011 — Arsenal versus QPR at the Emirates Stadium. After years of watching from afar, it was the first time it felt real. Since then, he has attended quite a number of Arsenal matches, usually planning carefully and sourcing tickets through legitimate fan communities to avoid inflated resale prices.
For him, it was never about VIP treatment, just being in the stands. Sleepless nights and a sudden decision This latest trip to London wasn’t planned months in advance. It came after what he describes as a few sleepless nights, constantly waking up to WhatsApp calls and messages from friends who were already caught up in the moment.
“I just kept getting updates non-stop,” he said. At some point, the decision became simple. He was going. Flights were booked soon after.
The long way to London The journey wasn’t direct. Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul with AirAsia X, then Istanbul to London with Pegasus. And the same route again on the way back, including another overnight stop in Istanbul. It wasn’t the fastest or easiest route, but that wasn’t really the point of the trip.
Football, strangers, and familiar faces One of the more unexpected parts of the trip was where he stayed. With a friend of a friend, someone he had never met before. But in football circles, that kind of thing doesn’t feel strange. There’s a shared understanding among fans that makes strangers feel less like strangers.
Even the smaller details of the trip reflect that same culture. He wore a TroopzTV cap from an Arsenal fan creator he has followed for years, something that represents more than just merchandise, but the wider online fan community he grew up around. More than just a football club Looking at it from the outside, travelling thousands of kilometres for a football club might seem excessive. But for him, it isn’t really about one match or one moment in London.
It stretches back to a jersey in 2002. A name on the back. A kid in Shah Alam who never really stopped following a team he connected with. And now, years later, that same journey has led him all the way to London, not as a tourist ticking off landmarks, but as a fan finally standing in the place he’s watched on screen for most of his life.
Share your thoughts with us via TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Threads.
Please follow us on Google to support us Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Under-16 social media users given one month to save data as age verification rollout beginsANGELES CITY, Philippines: The death toll from the collapse of a nine-story building under construction in Barangay Balibago rose to 10 on May 31 after rescuers recovered four more bodies from the wreckage, exactly one week after the tragedy.
Read more »
Young Malaysian Sisters Win Silver at International Speech Competition; One Eyes America's Got Talent AuditionTwo sisters from Penang, Malaysia, aged nine and eight, have secured silver medals at the World Championship International Grand Finals 2026 in Bangkok. Their recent success follows a national storytelling competition win, which has qualified one of them for an online audition of America's Got Talent Season 21. The family emphasizes the role of early reading habits and strong parental support in nurturing their children's talents.
Read more »
UiTM Shah Alam to Host Iconic Run 2026, Promoting Student Wellness and Campus UnityUiTM Iconic Run 2026 is a large-scale fun run event at UiTM Shah Alam, aiming to gather over 1,200 participants to promote healthy lifestyles and strengthen campus community bonds through a mini carnival-themed running experience.
Read more »
Six shoplots razed in late-night fire in Tanjong Karang, no casualties reportedSHAH ALAM, June 3 — Six shops, including a jewellery shop, were destroyed in a fire on Jalan Besar in Tanjong Karang near here last night.Selangor Fire and Rescue Department...
Read more »