Football: Dar es Salaam next port of call for LaLiga’s top club from Andalucia

By Robin Toskin: Monday, May 20th 2019 at 00:15 GMT +3 | Football

Sevilla's Spanish midfielder Jesus Navas (R) vies for the ball with Athletic Bilbao's Spanish goalkeeper Iago Herrerin (L) during the Spanish League football match between Sevilla and Athetlic Bilbao at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium in Sevilla on May 18, 2019. (courtesy)

Seville arrives in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, tomorrow ahead of the eagerly awaited ‘LaLiga World powered by SportPesa’ against Simba SC on Thursday.

The fixture is part of the ‘LaLiga World Challenge’ project, which aims to project the image of Spanish football internationally as a result of the growing interest in the LaLiga brand.

This will be a special moment for Tanzania football fans as Seville is the second European club to visit the African country after English club Everton in 2017.

Simba SC are 19-time Tanzania champions and have been impressive in continental assignments in recent years, reaching the quarterfinals of 2018/19 Caf Champions League.

Seville, who finished sixth in the just concluded LaLiga season, are five-time Uefa Europa League winners - more than any other club in Europe.

The Spanish team first landed in Africa in 2015 in Morocco for yet another LaLiga World match against Hassania Union Sport d’Agadir.

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Ahead of the Seville docking at the port city of Dar es Salaam, Oscar Mayo, LaLiga’s director of international development said: “As a global competition it meets LaLiga’s commitment to be close to its fans. The fact that our Tanzanian fans can get a close-up look at a great club like Sevilla FC means it’s a great opportunity for everyone.”

Tarimba Abbas, director of administration and compliance at SportPesa, a LaLiga partner in Africa, said: “We collaborate with some of the most prestigious football institutions in the world, so we saw the need to bring an experience of this magnitude to Tanzania, to be able to enjoy seeing one of the most emblematic football clubs in Europe — Sevilla FC.

Through our agreement with LaLiga, the best league in the world, we will be able to showcase the talent in our country and improve the level of local football.”

The highly successful club from Andalucia region in Spain is fifth in LaLiga’s all-time rankings and are currently ranked seventh of all European clubs by Uefa.