Samuel "Pamzo" Omollo (born 30 May 1970) is a former

Kenya international The Kenya International is an annual open international badminton tournament held in Kenya. This tournament is organised by the Kenya Badminton Association, with the sanctioned by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) and Badminton World ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defender who played for clubs in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He is currently the head coach of Shabana, and he is also a football analyst at Radio Jambo FM, which is a broadcast radio station from

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, providing sports, talk shows and African music.

Personal life

Born on May 30, 1970, Sammy Omollo was raised in Park road estate in

Ngara Ngara, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a small town in Ngara District, Kagera Region, in Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes reg ...

, where his nickname was ''"Pamzo"''. He is the son of Dishon Omollo, who also captained

Harambee Stars The Kenya national football team, colloquially known as the Harambee Stars, represents Kenya in association football. It is controlled by the Football Kenya Federation, the governing body of football in Kenya, and competes as a member of the ...

and retired with quite some remarkable international games to his name. Omollo quickly took his position in cricket as an all-rounder, meaning that he could throw the ball, could hit it again as a batsman. But later, his passion for cricket fazed off when he joined Githumu high school in Murang’a County and found out other friends who were good in football like Douglas Karanja who later played with him at

Kenya Breweries East African Breweries Limited, commonly referred to as EABL, is a Kenyan-based holding company that manufactures branded beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages. Overview The group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsi ...

and Charles Machiwa.

Club career

In 1989, his journey to football started when he guided his high school at the nationals' secondary school games finals against a

Henry Motego Henry Motego (born 21 May 1964) is a former Kenya international football forward who played for clubs in Kenya and Oman. Club career Born in Gucha District, Motego began playing football in the local league for Shabana Kisii. He helped the cl ...

led Kisii high school in Kakamega. At this level, Austrian born tactician Gerry Saurer was in the country and worked with the Kenyan national team. The Austrian was building

from bottom to top and was the person in charge on the under-21s. Here Omollo was recruited among other Kenyan greats like Francis 'killer' Oduor, Peter Mwololo, Vincent Kwarula, Allan Odhiambo, Tony Lwanga and many others. Omollo began his senior professional career there and making his

Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League, is a professional league for men's football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan football league system, the league was formed in 1963 under the Kenya Foo ...

debut for Kenya Breweries F.C. in 1990. In 1992, he joined rivals Gor Mahia F.C. for two seasons before returning to Kenya Breweries. Omollo helped Kenya Breweries reach the final of the

1994 African Cup Winners' Cup The 1994 African Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by DC Motema Pembe in two-legged final victory against Kenya Breweries, who were later renamed to Tusker F.C. in 1999. This was the twentieth season that the tournament took place ...

. In 1992, Gormahia convinced his late father Dishon Omollo that K'ogallo was the way to go. He turned out for Gor till 1994 then returned to Kenya Breweries after winning the

in 1993. He played for

up to 1996 and won the

in his final year with the Brewers. Omollo later moved to

and signed a professional contract with

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

side

East Bengal FC East Bengal Football Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football league system. The cl ...

from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

in 1996. He officially became the first

n footballer to play in the Indian highest tier football league. With ''Red and Gold Brigade'', he twice won the

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

and the

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...

before leaving the side in 1998 for city rivals Mohun Bagan, with whom he won the CFL again, and the shield too. After spending two tremendous successful seasons in

Indian football Association football is one of the most popular sports in India. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the first FIFA event the country hosted. It was called the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with a record-breaking attendance of 1,347,133 ...

, he moved to

Subrata Bhattacharya Subrata Bhattacharya (; born 3 March 1953) is an Indian football manager and former professional footballer. He primarily played as a defender for India national team and spent seventeen years playing for Mohun Bagan. Regarded as one of the ...

managed

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

for another three seasons deal. In 2001, just after returning to Kenya, he joined

Gor Mahia Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly known as is a professional football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 21 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. It is the first and ...

again and here they badly needed his experience both as a player and as a coach.

International career

Omollo made all total 20 FIFA international appearances (excluding 3 non-FIFA matches) for the

Kenya national football team The Kenya national football team, colloquially known as the Harambee Stars, represents Kenya in association football. It is controlled by the Football Kenya Federation, the governing body of football in Kenya, and competes as a member of the ...

. He represented his country in five

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

qualifying matches between 1992 and 1993. He debuted for Kenya at the

1992 African Cup of Nations The 1992 African Cup of Nations was the 18th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Senegal. The field expanded to twelve teams, split into four groups of three; the top two teams in each ...

in a match on 16 January against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Managerial career

Omolo began his coaching career here with

, with responsibilities of also doubling up as a player. In 2002, Kenya Pipeline F.C. hired his services. He helped Vincent ‘yaro’ Ogejo, and Joe ‘siti’ Odongo captain the side. After he retired from playing, Omollo became a full-time manager and led Mahakama to the

. He was appointed manager of Tusker in late 2010. While at Tusker FC he won the

title in the year 2011. From 2012 to 2015, life in coaching became ups and downs. He coached the now disbanded Oserian fastac and SoNy Sugar. Later, he went to the lower division sides and coached Zetech University before his former club in

came calling. He went back to

and managed

in the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

as an assistant coach. He won the

there as coach, previously he had won it as a player. Just like he did it in Kenya, he returned to India and did it again. He silently jetted back to

after falling out with the Indian club's hierarchy and eventually settled at Kenyan Premier League outfit Posta Rangers in 2016. He was with the club for several years until 2001, when Posta Rangers sacked him due to their bad performances. In February 2021, Omollo appointed on Kenyan champions

's duty as an assistant coach. On January 10, 2024, he was appointed as

Shabana FC Shabana Football Club, more commonly known as Shabana or Shabana Kisii, is a professional association football club based in Kisii, currently playing in the FKF Premier League. History Shabana Football Club was founded in 1980 by Kisii-ba ...

head coach.

Honours

Club

;Gor Mahia *

: Champions (1): 1993 ;Tusker F.C. *

: Champions (2): 1994, 1996 ;East Bengal * Federation Cup : Champions (1): 1996 *

: Champions (2): 1994, 1995 *

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

: Champions (1): 1995 ;Mohun Bagan *

: Champions (3): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02 * Federation Cup : Champions (2): 1998, 2001 *

: Champions (1): 2000 *

Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. Incorporated in 1890, it was the third oldest tournament in India after Trades Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by s ...

: Champions (1): 2000 *

: Champions (2): 1998, 1998 * Federation Cup : Champions (1): 1996 *

: Champions (1): 2001

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omollo, Sammy 1970 births Living people Kenyan men's footballers Kenya men's international footballers 1992 African Cup of Nations players Tusker F.C. players Gor Mahia F.C. players East Bengal Club players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Kenyan football managers SoNy Sugar F.C. managers Expatriate men's footballers in India Kenyan expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders National Football League (India) players Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in India Calcutta Football League players