English side to tour East Africa again

Everton will potentially face a SportPesa Premier League side on Kenyan soil in June or July next year, the giant gaming firm has announced.

The English Premier League side will tour East Africa for the second time in two years to play the winning team at the 2019 SportPesa Super Cup.

The invitational Super Cup will be staged in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, in Tanzania between January 22-29.

The exact date and venue of the match involving Everton is still under wraps.

Seven participating clubs drawn from Kenya and Tanzania namely AFC Leopards, Kariobangi Sharks, Bandari, Simba, Yanga, Singida United and Mbao FC will be gunning to dethrone back to back champions Gor Mahia.

"This tournament is geared at exposing local talent to give our players a chance to be scouted as well as play with the best in the region to improve their careers and skills," said SportPesa Chief Marketing Officer Kelvin Twissa during the launch last November.

Everton has twice played Gor Mahia in Dar es Salaam and Liverpool in the last two years, winning both games 2-1 and 4-0 respectively.

While in Tanzania in 2017 the Blues - with ex-England international Wayne Rooney, did win hearts and minds in the region when they participated in a range of promotional and charitable activities across Dar.

Everton which currently boasts a star-studded squad with the likes of Theo Walcott, Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Lucas Digne and Idrissa Gueye and are currently placed eighth on the 20-team EPL standings after 17 rounds.