Over 100 Spanish football enthusiasts journeyed approximately 1,000 miles to cheer on a non-league English team, only to witness them lose. Harborough Town FC’s supporters were taken aback when the Spanish fans descended on their modest stadium to watch them play against St Ives.
Videos reveal the stands packed with spectators donning the Bee’s yellow kit, chanting and singing in Spanish during the Southern League Premier Division Central match. Despite the international support, Harborough, currently in 7th place, succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Bowden Park last Saturday (12/4).
The unexpected guests, who travelled from sunny Spain, chose the East Midlands over Liverpool, London or Manchester as part of a partnership with a YouTube channel. They are all subscribers to La Media Inglesa (LMI), a channel that covers English football matches for Spanish-speaking fans worldwide.
With over 440,000 subscribers, LMI started organising trips to watch UK games live in 2018. The interest in Harborough Town originated from Barcelona-born founder Ilie Oleart, who wanted to engage with a small English club.
Subscribers were asked to vote for the club they should partner with, and Harborough Town FC emerged victorious. An agreement was reached with the club chairman, and their first-ever trip to watch a game live was arranged. Mr Oleart, an avid Espanyol fan, revealed: “Our aim was to transform a small local English club into a small local club with a global fanbase.”
He shared his initial impressions: “I met people at the club in September to get to know their history, the town and the facilities. We thought they were the perfect club with the right values to share with our audience,” he added. Carlos González León from the channel expressed the initial surprise of the locals: “Some of them didn’t understand and were shocked- but in a good way.”
He continued: “Once we explained everything to them then they were all really happy. Some of them were even joining in with us to sing the Spanish chants.” Carlos noted the positive reception: “I noticed that everyone there was really pleased with our attendance and support. We made a lot of noise. It was something huge and groundbreaking.”
Harborough Town’s matches in the seventh tier will now be broadcast live on the LMI YouTube channel for Spanish supporters. Carlos hinted at future visits: “The seventh league is much better than people would think. The level of professionalism, the facilities, the quality of players- it’s massive.
“The atmosphere is quite good. It is similar to the third or fourth division in Spain,” he compared. He concluded with a promise: “If Harborough goes to the playoff we’ll return, maybe not with 100 people, but Le Media Inglesa staff will definitely come.” Newly minted Harborough Town enthusiast Alvaro Sanz, hailing from Madrid, confided to the BBC about the local reaction: “Some of the local fans were quite surprised, probably wondering what 100 Spaniards were doing there.”
Long-time supporter Rick Wood chimed in with praise for the Spanish fans: “The Spanish contingent were amazing, added to the atmosphere and all credit to them their behaviour was exemplary.”