“You’d be surprised to see even some Tanzanians cheering Sevilla on matchday,” Mike and Richy told me. 

La Liga side Sevilla were in Tanzania for a post-season friendly against local side Simba SC. 

Mike and Richy were telling me to watch out for fans of Simba’s rivals Young Africans ‘Yanga’ who will be cheering for the visitors on matchday.  

The Simba–Yanga rivalry is considered to be the biggest football rivalries in East Africa and one of the biggest in Africa.

The game between both clubs, known as Kariakoo Derby and the Dar es Salaam derby is the most famous fixture in Tanzanian football. 

This rivalry like everyone is very real, with fans from each club never in support of the other. 

But it was different when Simba SC hosted La Liga side Seville in a friendly game at the Tanzania National Stadium on Thursday, May 23. 

Simba SC quickly ran into a 2-0 lead and they did that to the delight of every local present including Yanga fans who were all seated in a section of the stadium.  

Even Simba SC fans were surprised that fans of their rivals were cheering them. 

“I can’t believe my eyes, why are they cheering us,” a surprised lady asks from the section where Simba SC fans were seating while pointing to the Yanga fans at the other section. 

“It is very unusual, maybe because we have been good in this game and they had no choice but to support us,” a Simba SC fan Rebi told Pulse Sports. 

For Michael Noel, a Yanga fan, he’s only cheering Simba FV because he believes they are representing the whole of Tanzania in the friendly game against Sevilla.

“It’s just for today, they are representing Tanzania in this game and that’s the only reason I’m cheering them this evening,” Noel told Pulse Sports. 

The unity of rival fans against visiting Sevilla was my highlight of the friendly game on Thursday. 

On the pitch, Simba SC delighted the around 35,000 locals especially in the first half when they dominated Sevilla. 

Sevilla, however, came back stronger in the second half to win the game. 

Sevilla star Nolito said the friendly was a strange game after admitting that most of his teammates were already in the holiday mood. 

“It’s a strange game because heads are already on holidays but we are happy to have played this game in Tanzania, it has been another experience for us,” Nolito said during the post-match press conference. 

“Simba SC is a very good team, a competitive one. Football is 11 vs 11 and any team can win, But kudos to Simba team, they played well,” the Spanish forward added.

Sevilla’s visit to Tanzania is part of La Liga’s continued effort to draw the football world closer to project the image of Spanish football internationally, spread the values of Spain’s brand and generate new opportunities for all parties involved staging cultural, PR and corporate events. 

In Africa, La Liga have launched offices in South Africa and Nigeria and partnered with the countries’ FA for a series of initiatives. 

Some of the initiatives in Nigeria include the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) U15 competition coaching clinics for NPFL coaches, a tour of Spain by an NPFL All-Star and the visit of La Liga side Atletico Madrid in June 2018.