Dar-es-Salaam, May 12, 2017- SportPesa Tanzania on Friday entered a five-year partnership deal with Vodacom Premier League titans, Simba SC.
The partnership deal that comes only three days after the SportPesa services were launched in Tanzania and will commence officially at the start of the 2017/18 season.
To the pleasant surprise of the fans of the team known as Wekundu wa Msimbazi (Msimbazi Reds), the record agreement was announced during half time of their VPL clash against Shinyanga-based Stand United at the rocking National Stadium in Dar.
SportPesa Director of Administration in Tanzania, Abbas Tarimba made the announcement in a brief address during half-time to the resounding roar across the stadium from passionate supporters as Simba became the first club in the country to benefit from the company.
“We promised during our launch that we are here to transform the face of sports development and this is only a start. We have grand plans for Simba.
“We have bigger plans to develop Tanzanian football in general through our brand’s strong partnerships with English Premier League clubs such as Hull City, Arsenal and Southampton in addition to our recently announced co-operation with Spanish top flight, LaLiga,” Tarimba said as the decibel levels at the iconic stadium went through the roof.
“We will facilitate friendly matches between our global partners and conduct training camps as well so that players from Simba can have the platform to express their talent and eventually, get the chance to play internationally.
“We believe in five years Simba will make big strides in its evolution as a big club in the Vodacom Premier League and internationally under our partnership,” Tarimba added.
Simba players resumed the second stanza wearing jerseys emblazoned with SportPesa across their chests to another rapturous reception.
After the final whistle, SportPesa Tanzania CEO, Pavel Slavkov, Tarimba and Simba President Evans Elieza Aveva and his Deupty, Geoffrey Nyange Kaburu held a session with the media.
SportPesa will also lend their expertise to Simba in helping the club to aggressively market their merchandise and expand their already massive fan-base.
“We will respect the terms of the deal and work hard to meet the targets that entitle us to the bonuses on offer. Our mission is to become an international brand in the duration of this deal that will contribute immensely to the growth of the club,” the elated President Elieza told.
The SportPesa brand was launched in 2014 in Kenya and has since grown to a global presence. The addition of the Simba SC partnership is an exciting new step in the expanding portfolio of teams that sees the Dar-based club join Hull, Southampton, Arsenal and Nairobi based titans, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards among others.
