CD Leganes-Rainbow Sports partnership set to open doors for Kenyan players

LALIGA hypermotion side, CD Leganes president Jeff Luhnow says the club is seeking to put more focus on getting football talents from Africa, which could open up a route for Kenyan players to grace the Spanish leagues.

The club has entered into an agreement with Rainbow Sports to realize this dream of getting the best talents from Kenya and Africa as a whole. Rainbow Sports owns the National Super League side, Rainbow FC that play's in Kenya's second tier.

The partnerships between Leganes and teams from the continent could provide an avenue that will see more players from Kenya and Africa as a whole move to the club and other teams in the Spanish football structure. At the moment, no Kenyan player is playing in the Spanish top tier. The only Kenyan in Spain’s football pyramid is Harambee Stars midfielder Ismail Gonzalez, who plays for Águilas FC in the fourth tier.

In a video call from Spain interview during a press conference organized by Laliga Kenya's delegate in Nairobi, Luhnow said Africa is now the focus for the next generation of talents. He said his club will integrate more talented African players into their systems.

"For us, 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.

On his part, Kingsley Pungong, the CEO of Rainbow Sports, said they have a keen interest in Kenya. Through their team, Rainbow FC, RS have been exposing talented Kenyan players to training in the UAE, where some have been spotted by scouts and could soon earn moves to different teams in Europe. The partnership with Leganes is set to open up another channel for Kenyan players.

"Kenya is one of our key countries, and we already have interests there because of our club We have historically been known for being disruptive and innovative when it comes to commercial campaigns, partnerships, activations, sponsorships, and so forth. That is what we intend to bring to Kenya," he said.

Rainbow FC earned promotion to the National Super League after topping the FKF Division One Zone A league last season.

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