Yellow army of 100 Spaniards surprise fans at non-league game in Leicestershire
An army of Spanish football fans descended upon a small non-league club over the weekend - leaving supporters stunned - and it's all thanks to a YouTube channel
Harborough Town regulars might have been left stunned over the weekend when they were greeted with a yellow army of over 100 Spaniards.
Harborough's non-league clash with St Ives was hijacked by subscribers to a Spanish YouTube channel devoted to English football which has now started arranging trips.
"Some of the local fans were quite surprised, probably wondering what 100 Spaniards were doing there," Alvaro Sanz, a Madrid-native and new Harborough Town fan, told the BBC.
Spanish YouTube channel La Media Inglesa (LMI) was founded by Barcelona-born Ilie Oleart and covers English football matches for Spanish speaking fans across the world.
However, in 2018, it took the step to offering trips to the UK in 2018 so the fans could watch games in person.
Oleart wanted to go further - and hoped to become involved in a football club. He said: "Our aim was to transform a small local English club into a small local club with a global fanbase."
And after discussions different lower league clubs, Oleart and his subscribers settled on Harborough Town. "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."
Footage of their trip went viral on social media - as the yellow wall of Spanish fans made themselves known throughout the non-league clash.
"I still have no understanding at all to why we have hundreds of yellow-clad Spaniards flying in for a Harborough Town game, but that’s non-league I guess," one fan joked.
"This is brilliant! Seeing support like this for non-league is one thing, but they have all flown in from another country for this in their numbers and making an atmosphere! Incredible," a second said.
And another added: "What fever dream is this?"