Shabana coach ‘Pamzo’ Omollo goes AWOL
Shabana coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omollo reacts on the touchline during their Football Kenya Federation Premier League match against Ulinzi Stars on September 22, 2024 at Ulinzi Sports Complex.
What you need to know:
- Omollo was not on the bench when Shabana fought out a 1-1 draw with Kariobangi Sharks at the Dandora Stadium in Nairobi.
- Juma was the one who was in the dugout as the team collected its third point of the season. Shabana remain win-less from five matches and lie at the bottom of the 18-team league table.
Uncertainty surrounds the fate of Shabana coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omollo, even as the club management remains tight-lipped over his whereabouts.
The experienced tactician was last seen with the team on October 23, when the Kisii-based side suffered a shocking 1-0 loss to Sofapaka at Gusii Stadium.
Since then, the former international, who had been given an ultimate by the passionate Shabana fans to win the game or get the boot, has not been with the team.
He was not present when Shabana battled to a 1-1 draw with Kariobangi Sharks in Nairobi on Saturday.
Goalkeeper trainer David Juma and youth team coach Kelvin Momanyi conducted the team training session on Monday and Tuesday before Peter Okidi took charge yesterday and is expected to handle the team in their Premier League match against Nairobi City Stars this weekend at Gusii Stadium.
According to a club official Okidi joined the on Tuesday as an assistant coach. He was previously with Division One outfit, Nakuru Bucks and holds a CAF A licence.
When reached for comment Shabana president Jared Nevaton said: “About coach Pamzo, it is an in-house matter and we prefer not to talk about it now but to solve it internally. Should we have any information that we will want to put out to the public, we will.”
When reached for a comment on the phone also, Pamzo promised to talk to us later but his phone was unreachable a few minutes later.
“Let us talk about this later on please. I am driving,” Pamzo said.
Contacted on phone, Omollo said he will talk about his situation “later”.
On the day Shabana were playing their first top flight match at their Gusii Stadium backyard after 18 years, October 23, there was high expectations from the huge number of supporters who had turned up for the game.
But the anticipated victory never came as Shabana were condemned to their second successive defeat.
As soon as the match ended, a section of fans, breathing fire, called for the dismissal of the widely travelled Omollo, charging he was the one letting the team down and that they were not impressed with his style of play.
“The management has really invested in players but the coach is the one who is actually letting us down. We must call a spade a spade. We are calling on the management that we should not lose our second match here in Gusii Stadium. This must be taken as we have said. If he does not win, we will ask the management to sack him,” Shabana fan.
Omollo was not on the bench when Shabana fought out a 1-1 draw with Kariobangi Sharks at the Dandora Stadium in Nairobi.
Juma was the one who was in the dugout as the team collected its third point of the season. Shabana remain win-less from five matches and lie at the bottom of the 18-team league table. Could he be the first coach to exit a club in the demanding Premiership this season?
