Sevilla FC coach Joaquin Caparrós: “Playing in Tanzania will be an incredible experience for everyone. The welcome has been wonderful.”
22ndMay 2019.- LaLiga and Sevilla FC players and representatives are now in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where today they took part in various activities ahead of their LaLiga World SportPesa Challenge match with Simba SC at Tanzania National Main Stadium on Thursday.
A welcome press conference was held on Wednesday morning, featuring representatives of both clubs and various local institutions. The Spanish travelling party was represented by José Castro, president of Sevilla FC, and Antonio Barradas, director of LaLiga in South Africa. Local representatives included CrescentiusMagori, CEO of Simba SC, Yusuf Singo, representing the Tanzanian Ministry, Wallace Karia, president of the Tanzanian Football Federation, and Tarimba Abbas, SportPesa’s Director of Administration and Compliance.
“LaLiga has been present in Africa for many years now, thanks to all of our fans, our institutional presence through LaLiga offices in South Africa and Nigeria and our delegates in nine countries across the continent. Thanks to this match, football lovers will be able to watch the stars from an iconic team like Sevilla FC up close in person,” said Antonio Barradas, director of LaLiga in South Africa.
“For Sevilla FC it is an honour to be the first LaLiga team and only the second from Europe to come to Tanzania. We’re very grateful for the warm welcome we’ve been given in Tanzania. This LaLiga World match will be a wonderful experience for everyone,” added José Castro, president of Sevilla FC, before finishing with “hongerasana Simba,” ‘many congratulations, Simba’ in Swahili.
Later in the day, Sevilla FC and LaLiga representatives took part in a seminar – with directors of local clubs and institutions – to exchange knowledge, experience and expertise relating to the football industry and the positive impact of the sport on society. Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo ‘Monchi,’ Sevilla FC’s Sporting Director, shared his expertise in management at a high-level club and Antonio Barradas, director of LaLiga in South Africa, discussed the different initiatives kick-started across Africa by LaLiga and their positive contribution to social change. Additionally, Luis Cárdenas, LaLiga’s delegate in Tanzania, discussed the implementation of LaLiga’s internationalization strategy.
Meanwhile, various Sevilla FC players took part in a clinic with youth players from local side Bom Bom at National Stadium. Wissam Ben Yedder, Ibrahim Amadou, Munir El Haddadi, Bryan Gil and Sergi Gomez practiced different technical drills and skill tests together with the Tanzanian players.
The pre-match press conference featuring Sevilla FC coachJoaquin Caparros and club captain Jesus Navas took place on Wednesday afternoon.The coach began by congratulating Simba SC for their league triumph and said: “We’re coming into this game with excitement. We want it to be a great spectacle, for people to enjoy it and have fun.”
He went on to explain why LaLiga is important: “it has the best players and it’s seen all over the world because people want to watch the very best.” He also spoke about the news of the day, that he wouldn’t continue as first team coach but would nevertheless stay on at the club in another capacity: “I’ve got three years left on my contract and I’ll continue to give my all to Sevilla.”
Meanwhile, Navas reiterated that the fans were the most important priority on Thursday. “We really want the fans to enjoy the game. We can’t forget that we’re facing a team that are national champions.”
The day’s activities ended with the Sevilla squad training at the stadium which will host their game against Simba SC on Thursday and a cultural visit to the National Museum of Tanzania together with local authorities including the Tanzanian Minister for Sport. The group had the opportunity to see first-hand many important artefacts relating to Tanzanian history and culture. While at the museum, an exchange of gifts and showcase of local dances took place.
