New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is in the central chamber of the governor’s room of City Hall, a quarter that features a desk once used by George Washington, and which hosted luminaries including Albert Einstein.When Mamdani meets The Athletic, however, even more cerebral matters are at play. Mamdani is the latest big name to join The Athletic’s Why I Love the Beautiful Game series, in which some of the world’s most recognizable and successful people explain what soccer means to them.By now, many will be familiar with Mamdani’s soccer fandom. He was among a cast of celebrity cheerleaders celebrating Arsenal’s first Premier League title since 2004 and, as mayor of New York City, he has been at the forefront of hyping the World Cup, while challenging FIFA on the costs for those who wish to partake in the world’s most popular sports event.“It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Mamdani tells The Athletic. “We want this to be the World Cup where so many more people fall in love with the game — not just the World Cup where some people were able to go.”Mamdani’s passion for soccer was inherited from his uncle, who passed on the Arsenal gene. He collected fridge magnets of Arsenal players — particularly the 2003-04 team who won the Premier League without losing a game. He connected with a cohort of African players signed by Arsene Wenger, the long-time Arsenal coach who is now a FIFA executive. He namechecks the defenders Lauren, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue, as well as the entertaining forward Nwankwo Kanu.Mamdani grew up in the east African country of Uganda, moving with his family to New York at the age of seven.“I played from a young age in Kampala,” he says. “I would also play in Morningside Heights, where I grew up in New York City.”He says he started as a striker but, as Father Time intervened, he “went further and further down the field.”Most recently, he has played as a full-back for Talking Headers, a coed recreational team in Brooklyn, where he joined the team for post-game socials at dive bars named Windjammer in Ridgewood and Duckduck in Williamsburg.“I haven’t played in a while,” Mamdani grins. “But my style of play now is…playing at the back, the ball in front of me, one lung busting run every 20 to 30 minutes, and then sub-optimal play for the immediate five minutes that follow. But my early memories are just my dreams of being a striker.”Is there a moment from his amateur career that he would want on film?“My peak was high school senior year. I was one of the captains of our team. There were two or three of us. It was a very funny team talk where the coach was looking at two of us who played up top and he looked at my friend Julian and he was like, ‘Julian, he has talent, he has skill. And then there is Zohran. He has… effort. He has… drive. He’s… doing his best.’“For the record, Julian and I did tie eight goals for that season, but those were some of the best moments that senior year. We made it to the second round of playoffs. But then I played on a team in college and we played our greatest rivals. I scored my one solitary goal against them and I tried to combine six or seven celebrations into one. It was just pent up, having wished to score many more goals!”Does he have a favorite soccer celebration? “Mario Balotelli (playing for Manchester City) and his ‘Why always me?’ message on the shirt below. Do you remember him at Euro 2012 for Italy? Fantastic. Just an incredible player. One that you’d never want to depend on, but… wow.’(ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images)Mamdani, 34, may be approaching the age where players turn to coaching. He had plenty of practice playing Football Manager.“I would download different skins for the game,” he says. “I loved that game. You can lose yourself in it, you just spend hours on it.“I remember feeling personally affected when Championship Manager became Football Manager. I remember feeling like this is so wrong. It shouldn’t be allowed, it felt like a divorce between the data and the branding, and then praying and hoping Championship Manager would continue, but it simply couldn’t compete with FM.”