On May 25, 1963, representatives of thirty African nations met in the Ethiopian capital for a summit that gave birth to the Organization of African Unity. By then, more than two-thirds of the continent had achieved independence, and the OAS’s goal was to fight colonialism, racism, and apartheid.
Since then, every May 25th, this historic event is commemorated with the celebration of Africa Day, an occasion to reflect on the progress that the region has made and the challenges that it continues to face.
LaLiga has joined this celebration for yet another year, organizing, through the offices in the different countries in which it is represented, seven events throughout the African continent to get closer to football fans and highlight the development of this sport in Africa. The festival, which combines sport with art, music, dance and gastronomy, has lasted for a whole week.
The African continent is especially relevant for LaLiga and its active and growing presence in the area is a clear example of the international expansion strategy of Spanish professional football. It opened its first office in South Africa in 2015 and today it also has representation in Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Angola, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Today, LaLiga is immersed in local communities and football culture with content geared towards the region, such as its popular LaLiga African MVP award for the best performing African players in LaLiga and with its LaLiga Loca programme, focused on African stars. past and present that have illuminated the competition.
Patricia Irisarri, Regional Manager of LaLiga in Africa, highlights “the tremendous growth that the competition has experienced over the years on the African continent and the players from the region have contributed notably to it”.
Precisely, the Africa Day festivities celebrate LaLiga’s strong link with the continent and bring the competition even closer to its fans of African football.
This is yet another example of LaLiga’s commitment to the fight against racism in football and the dignity of players from all walks of life and walks of life, as well as an occasion to celebrate the enormous progress made by African footballers, who They have brought enormous value and quality to the competition.
Local food, culture and music formed an important part of the Africa Day celebrations in Tanzania. This event featured performances by local dancers, including the typical Maasai dance, acrobatic shows, and a barbecue for attendees. In the capital, Dar es Salaam, a graffiti-themed mural has also been unveiled
LaLiga as part of the celebrations.
In Kenya, another of the countries where the organization is represented, an event has been organized to commemorate the celebrations and conduct interviews with the local population about the perception of LaLiga and African players. The activity included a freestyler, music and African merchandising, while a vehicle decorated with African infographics from LaLiga toured the streets of Nairobi.
In Angola and Mozambique, PUMA, official sponsor of LaLiga, has also joined the Africa Day celebration as the main partner of a tournament with 60 companies and LaLiga promotional actions during the tournament.
In Côte d’Ivoire the celebrations have revolved around football, with 10 teams taking part and local bloggers covering the colorful event live.
Cameroon also wanted to join this continental festival with a gastronomic exhibition in which the ten best dishes from ten African countries were revealed.
Finally, in Nigeria, LaLiga’s Africa Day celebrations have coincided with Children’s Day and will celebrate the different cultures of the country. For this reason, several local schools have participated in the activities, which have included cultural theater, fashion shows and dances that promote diversity, inclusion and equality, showing that LaLiga is much more than football.
