Millions of Latin American football fans enjoyed a momentous Merseyside derby victory for Everton when they joined the football club’s first-ever Spanish-language live watch-along.
As part of Everton’s ongoing engagement with fans in the region, the four-hour live event attracted more than a million viewers via the Club’s social media platforms, plus millions more engagements with the content across social media, as Carlo Ancelotti’s side recorded a 2-0 win at Anfield.
The watch-along also ensured Everton became the first football club in the world to use TikTok’s live geo-stream focused on one territory, allowing more Latin American football fans than ever before to engage with the Club on derby day – with a significant number of Colombian fans in particular forging new connections with the Blues.
Everton’s Colombian followers on TikTok increased by 9% across the Merseyside derby weekend, generating 7.3 million video views on the platform.
To deliver the watch-along, Everton teamed up with Cracks Colombia, one of Latin America’s biggest football social media influencer platforms. Professional commentator Rafa Cifuentes hosted the show which featured guests, exclusive video content and opinion in the build-up, during and after the much-anticipated match at Anfield.
The show included an exclusive live interview with Everton and Colombia hero James Rodriguez, who spoke to fans in his home country live while pitchside at Anfield after the game. James' inspired assist led to Richarlison’s goal in the third minute of the thrilling game against Liverpool.
As well as being broadcast on Everton’s official TikTok account, the watch-along was live on Everton’s official YouTube channel, Facebook page and the Club’s Spanish-language Twitter feed @EvertonESP. Each platform also saw a significant increase in interaction and followers as a result.
Social media influencer La Liendra also shared a clip of the watch-along with his 5.4 million Instagram followers.
Alejandro Bedoya Vannin – a member of Bogotá Blues, the first official Everton affiliated Supporters’ Club in Colombia – appeared on the watch-along and was surprised with the opportunity to speak to his hero James.
Alejandro said: “It was amazing being able to be part of such a historic day for the Club. To speak to James was incredible. I love Everton - it is The People’s Club. It is very encouraging to see Everton put so much effort into engaging directly with supporters in Colombia and wider Latin America, with specially-designed content.
"I look forward to seeing how Everton engages with different countries across the region as the Club continues to grow its profile. The Bogota Blues have seen a lot of interest since the event, and we are excited to see that develop as more people learn about the Club and what it means to be an Evertonian.”
As part of the watch-along, fans enjoyed specially-curated content featuring Yerry Mina and James showing how they have got to know their new home city. Viewers were given a glimpse at the plans for Everton’s new 52,888-seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on Liverpool’s famous waterfront – plans which were this week approved by Liverpool City Council.
With a host of Latin American stars including James and Mina already household names with Evertonians around the globe, the Club has been forging strong links across the region.
The watch-along is just the first in a series of bespoke engagement events that will be developed in the coming months to further strengthen ties with fans in Colombia and across Latin America as part of Everton’s international growth strategy.
The watch-along builds on other high-profile activity undertaken by Everton in Colombia, including lighting up Colombia’s tallest building, the Colpatria Tower, in blue and with the number 19 – the shirt number of James Rodriguez – when he signed for the Club.
Last week also saw two of The Bogotá Blues youngest members, Simón, 11, and Lucas, 9, become Everton’s first international virtual mascots for the Premier League match against Manchester City – the first time the Club’s virtual mascot experience has been experienced by fans from outside the UK.
Vamos para un lado ↪️ 𝙈𝙚𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙫𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖 𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙩𝙧𝙤@jamesdrodriguez 🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/YYQZog9rnW
— Everton (@EvertonESP) February 22, 2021
