Former Gor Mahia and Tusker head coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omollo has discussed the importance of the league being televised after Tanzanian broadcasting company Azam TV started airing games this season.
For nearly 18 months, the country’s top-flight league had gone without being televised after StarTimes pulled out of its deal with the Football Kenya Federation in late 2021 as the then Sports CS Amina Mohammed opted to disband the federation.
However, following the federation’s reinstatement, the committee signed a sponsorship with Azam TV, and Pulse Sports also understands that the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is set to become the league’s title sponsor.
Omollo has reminisced back to the days when SuperSport used to broadcast the league, claiming it would help him analyse games in his days coaching several clubs, among others, Tusker and Posta Rangers.
“Media is important, and we are also talking about quality,” Pamzo told Habari 254 news.
“When SuperSport was here, the quality was high. As a coach, I was leaving a match and finding a tape, and you (the media) were helping me a lot. I would use the footage to analyse the games.
“Now it is more difficult because games are not televised or the quality is poor, so the feedback you give players is minimal.”
Omollo appeared to suggest that the return of a broadcaster will go a long way to help in coaches’ video analysis moving forward.
“Football is about quality and analysis nowadays it is important for us coaches, and there are video analysts. If we do not have the tools, then analysing games becomes difficult for us coaches.”
FKF announced Azam TV as its broadcast partner back in September after agreeing on a seven-year deal worth Ksh145 million annually with an increment of 10% for the subsequent seasons.
Under the deal, Azam TV has been airing select matches in every round on their Pay TV and Digital platforms.
Fans and other users also have the option to stream the games via the Azam TV Max app with games aired in high-definition (HD) quality.