Everton on their pre-season tour of Tanzania
18 July 2017
Tripindigo
5 min read
Everton’s first-team recently spent a whirlwind 48 hours in the Tanzania, while the trip may have been short lived the caused quite a stir in Dar Es Salaam. The game was well attended by locals and some travelling fans from England with SportPesa offering complimentary match tickets to Everton supporters making the journey to Tanzania. It is also worth mentioning that Everton Football club has made history by becoming the first Premier League side ever to play in the East African country.
Everton vice captain Leighton Baines on landing in Tanzania
"We received a very warm welcome,” he said. “It is very interesting for us as the Maasai welcome is not something we see at home. We’ve just come straight off the plane and we are all excited to be here. - Leighton Baines
The reason for the tour
The trip, which celebrates the Club’s new main partnership with gaming giant SportPesa, which saw Blues of Merseyside play at the 60,000-capacity Tanzania National Main Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam on Thursday 13 July. It was not all football related for the Everton team as the Blues got out and about to meet locals, visit schools and hospitals and even take part in a traditional dance with a group of Maasai warriors.
Their opponents
Gor Mahia FC has earned the chance to play Everton in a pre-season game in Tanzania next month after they were crowned champions of the SportPesa Super Cup.
The SportPesa Super Cup is a two-country, eight-team tournament that sees four sides from Kenya’s top tier, the SportPesa Premier League, playoff in a knockout competition against four teams from Ligu Kuu Bara, the Premier League of the Football Federation of Tanzania, for the right to take on Ronald Koeman's side. Which Gor Mahia won with a 3-0 victory in the final against fellow Kenyan side AFC Leopards.
Gor Mahia is based in Nairobi and is Kenya’s most successful club, having won the country’s top division a record 15 times.
The Match
An amazing game played in Dar es Salaam saw Everton eventually beating Gor Mahia in a thrilling 2-1 win. While fans in attendance were treated to a stunning goal by newly returned former Manchesterer United star Wayne Rooney.
A few highlights from Everton's visit
For those of you who missed it check out what fans in Dar es Salaam were treated to courtesy of Wayne Rooney
Fans cheering as they meet Yannick Bolasie
As you can see from the video clips above. Tanzanians love football and took Everton to their hearts during their short stay. The buzz and excitement from the locals everywhere the team went was fantastic to see, with everybody wanting photos and autographs from the squad, which was amazing to see and experience.
Does East Africa have a new favourite in the EPL?
Judging by the reception given by Kenyan and Tanzanian fans on Everton's arrival and the deal done with Sportpesa, it looks like East Africa could be treated to a lot more live action from Premier League stars in the future. So what do you think? Is this good for East African football? If you attended the game, was it all you hoped it would be?Let us know on our social media channels!