This archive report was first published on 16 October 2019.
On October 16, 2019, Italian football club AS Roma made history by launching a Swahili Twitter account, becoming the first major European football club to communicate directly with millions of its fans who speak Swahili.
The move comes after AS Roma congratulated Eliud Kipchoge on his historic achievement in the INEOS challenge, where he ran the first sub-two hours marathon. Fans took the opportunity to ask for a Swahili account, and Roma quickly obliged.
According to Paul Rogers, Head of Strategy at AS Roma, the new Twitter account was launched in response to fan requests from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and other Eastern and South Eastern African countries. Rogers stated, 'We’re delighted to launch AS Roma Swahili on Twitter today. The new Twitter account will allow us to directly engage with these fans in a way that suits them and is consistent with our strategy of breaking down the communication barriers between the club and our global fan base.'
The new Roma account can be followed at @ASRomaSwahili.
