Upcoming China-based smartphone company Leagoo plans to step up global competition with its domestic rivals, after announcing a branding partnership with Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur.

Leagoo, founded in 2009, counts more than 50 million customers worldwide and said it is now a top ten brand based on its strength in Africa and Asia.

The company is looking to boost its business presence globally through a five year partnership with the football club, as well as create a new range of Tottenham Hotspur branded phones and accessories for customers and fans around the world.

Speaking at a press conference at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground in London, Leagoo’s CEO Johnson Zhuang (pictured, centre) said while rivals Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo were more established, he was confident in his company’s ability to “move faster”.

“We can achieve things quickly and are very active in what we want to achieve,” he said, adding: “For a company like Huawei it may take six months to a year to launch something. We can do it in a month.”

“We also look to bring product innovations and we are focused on providing a different experience.”

Most connected UK stadium
Tottenham Hotspur’s head of partnerships Fran Jones added the club opted to partner with Leagoo, and not a more established player, because it saw similarities in the way the two companies were planning to grow.

Indeed, Tottenham has seen a dramatic upturn both on and off the pitch in recent years.

The club finished runners up in their domestic league last year, and is currently building a new 61,000 seater stadium, which is set to be ready in 2018.

“We are always keen to work with brands that are hungry and trying to grow their business, and we saw synergies in the way they are conducting themselves and the way we are conducting ourselves,” Jones said.

Today’s press conference saw the club roll out a number of first team players, including 2016/17 Premier League top scorer, Harry Kane (pictured, second left).

Jones added Tottenham Hotspur was looking to ensure its new stadium will be “the best connected” in the UK, with the potential of striking partnerships with mobile operators.

He also added the company looked forward to working with UK operator EE this year, when the club temporarily play their home games at Wembley stadium while the new ground is being built.