La Liga explains Yanga SC's choice over Simba SC for strategic consultancy agreement

La Liga has revealed why they picked Young Africans (Yanga SC) over their Mainland League rivals Simba SC for a historic strategic consultancy agreement.

La Liga, in conjunction with Sevilla FC, entered into a deal that targets to help the record Tanzanian league champions transform in various development aspects.

The deal, signed in June and expected to run for three years, will see the Timu Ya Wananchi advised on management and activities with the fans, digital transformation, marketing and sales, economic control, digitalisation or international development.

In an exclusive interview with Goal, Juan Botella, La Liga Regional Manager Africa, explained why they settled on Yanga for the project.

“Yanga and Simba are the two top teams of the country so they both have a huge fan base,” stated Botella.

“Looking specifically at Yanga, the most awarded club in the country, we do not have to forget some of Yanga figures; it boasts a large community on social networks, they are not just numbers, but the level of engagement is huge.

“Just think that during the official presentation of the deal, after an hour of the streaming event, more than 3000 people were still connected to YouTube and continued to send messages of gratitude.

“They have 27 Premier League titles [with five wins across the last 10 years], four Tanzania FA Cups, five Cecafa Club Cups, and the club also has leading sponsors in their fields.”

Botella revealed specific objectives of the pact and why he thinks it will succeed in the end.

“In La Liga we want all the clubs to improve and our main objective is the professionalization of football in the world. In this case, we are working with Yanga and it’s going really well,” said Botella.

“We share a dream, a common vision with Yanga that a Tanzanian club could become and inspire other entities not just in the country but also in the rest of Africa. It was very easy since the beginning to work together.

“When we start talking about this collaboration, we both envision the transformation of Yanga and how the club could achieve its huge potential beyond their own limits. That makes everything easier.”

The official further stated why La Liga chose Tanzania over other African countries as their ideal destination for such a strategic project.

“Africa has become a strategic region for La Liga, with the biggest increase in TV audience and a great interest in our clubs,” Botella concluded.

“Tanzania is one of the key countries of the region, where we are achieving great opportunities and we feel completely at home.

“We have had a permanent presence in the country for over three years which allows us to be the European league with the greatest understanding of the country and its socio-cultural importance.”

Jose Maria Cruz, who is the Director of Sevilla, on Friday revealed the club's coaches will travel to the East African nation when the coronavirus-related travel restrictions are lifted in order to implement the objectives of the pact.