Aston Lukoye
Spanish Club CD Leganes is the latest European outfit to be associated with African clubs with Kenya’s Rainbow FC the main beneficiary.
The LALIGA Hypermotion (2nd division) side addressed Kenyan media to highlight on the new relationship that aims at helping African players pursue their talents at the club and beyond.
CD Leganes president Jeff Lunhow said that the Spanish outfit was going to help Kenyan fans connect with their long term vision and hopefully have one match in the country in the near future.
“For us(CD Leganes), the most important part has been and will be building relationships in Africa and pipelines for players from Africa to Europe, to Leganes, and the rest of Europe. We believe that Africa is the right place to find future football talent all over the world, and we are happy to be integrating young African talents into our system,” he said.
Leganes has been in existence for 95 years and Lunhow believes that their model and fan relationship can help African football grow.
“We have various ways of connecting with the fans and this has helped us grow together with the community. Our social media presence has also help us connect with the fans and we believe that it is possible to do this elsewhere.”
With the new LALIGA season just underway, the league and its clubs have remained firm in their commitment to combat hatred and intolerance in all its forms.
LALIGA Kenya delegate Alvaro Abreu also stressed on the need to develop the game and accommodate everyone moreso protecting players against any hateful acts occurring inside and outside its stadiums.
He said, “Starting this season, all these initiatives will be grouped under a new platform, LALIGA VS Racism, aimed at the eradication of racism in football.”
Through its new platform, LALIGA says they continue its efforts to educate, prevent and take action against violent behaviour and hateful attitudes in all forms.
“The new platform (laligavsracismo.com) will bring together LALIGA’s initiatives against intolerance and will help to reinforce the organisation’s stance in the fight against racism, creating a space to share projects and resources, promoting new initiatives and uniting football to achieve a common goal.
“LALIGA VS Racism is open to stakeholders including clubs, fans, institutions and those who seek to support LALIGA’s zero-tolerance approach to racism,” he stressed.
