Vision Voice imports seasoned experts

Aug 19, 2009

JUST a week after Vision Voice started relaying live Premiership matches, the broadcasts have become compelling listening for the discerning football fan.

By Vision Reporter

JUST a week after Vision Voice started relaying live Premiership matches, the broadcasts have become compelling listening for the discerning football fan.

The instantaneous popularity of the broadcasts has been heavily inspired by the live on-air commentaries delivered by a crack ensemble of experts.

The London-based ensemble is led by presenters Andy Smith, Ian Payne and Simon Mann. The team blends seasoned broadcasters with ex-professional footballers and topflight managers.

Smith, Payne and Mann bring a wealth of experience after having three decades’ worth of experience working with the BBC.

Smith, by far the most experienced, is a veteran of six world Cups while Payne covered France ’98 and South Korea 2002 plus two Olympic Games.

Mann, on the other hand, has been a fixture on BBC radio since 1990; reporting and commentating on English football for more than two decades.

The threesome is complemented by the play-by-play commentary squadron of Dave Farrar, Gary Taphouse, Richard Kaufman and Sam Matterface.

The quartet, whose express brief is to provide a blow-by-blow account of the match as it happens, comes with similar experience.

Farrar, a continental expert, is the anchorman for the Premiership’s worldwide television broadcasts.

Taphouse has lent his voice to the Premier League, the Champions League and domestic cup matches since 1997. Kaufman has commentated on everything from the UEFA Champions League through La Liga to the UEFA U-21 Championships; while Matterface, who began his broadcasting career at 17, was recently short-listed for the prestigious Commercial Radio Presenter of the Year award.

Despite such sparkling CVs however, the aforementioned aren’t the jewels in Vision’s Voice’s crown.

That honour falls to the trio of Nigel Winterburn, John Gregory and Efan Ekoku.

The three all had celebrated careers in football before taking to the studios and have been retained by Vision Voice to offer colourful analysis during the games.

The most recognisable of the lot is Winterburn.

A left-back in his playing days, Winterburn made the leap from mere defender to Arsenal icon by making 584 appearances at Highbury.

His rampaging runs and presence in a famous back four that was captained by Tony Adams also earned him two England caps.

Winterburn’s co-analyst, Gregory is most memorable for his time at the helm of Premiership main-stays Aston Villa, as well as stints at Derby and Portsmouth.

Gregory, who represented England six times during his playing days, brings unrivalled tactical aptitude to the team.

Ekoku, the last of the crew, also enjoyed a high-profile international career with the Nigerian Super Eagles.

Ekoku further descended into Premiership folklore as the first player to score four goals during Norwich’s 5-1 thrashing of Everton at Goodison Park in 1993.

Football fans who have listened into the six matches so far broadcast on 94.8FM have already collided with the quality on offer.

And according to IMG Media, the providers of the live broadcasts, soccer lovers in Uganda should expect more of the same the whole season long.

“IMG has built a reputation for quality and top-rated content, due to a peerless team of experts,” stated Miles Palmer, IMG’s head of audio sales. “That’s the reason we partnered with Vision Voice. We’re convinced of Vision Voice’s capacity to deliver our content, with the quality and everything else intact.”

He added: “As far as IMG and Vision Voice are concerned, top-notch quality remains the watchword.”

While the international panel will bring listeners on-spot coverage of Premiership matches from all 20 stadia across England, Vision Voice will inject local flavour into the mix with its own in-studio team.

The local team’s analysis will be anchored by Sportlight host Joseph Opio, alongside the other members of the Dream Team; Paul Mbuga, Joseph Kanaba and Charles Mutebi.

Fred Kaweesi, Uganda’s Chief Pen on all matters football and Andrew Kabuura, the World Cup-bound rising star, will come off the bench to add variety.

“Vision Voice is stepping in to fill an existing gap for soccer fans,” revealed Group Sports Editor, Louis Jadwong. “Our live broadcasts are tailored towards those astute local fans who want to hear exactly what’s happening during Premiership games from authoritative and world renowned broadcasters.”

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