Why Kenyan stadiums can't host LaLiga ties

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

No stadium in Kenya, at the moment, can host a LaLiga match. Not even the Segunda B, if what the Kenyan Premier League officials have been taken through here in Spain could be implemented to the letter.

The Kenyan officials, including top managers from KPL title sponsors SportPesa, who are on a tour of Spanish LaLiga, have been treated to a new experience in elite football management.

In a 45-page presentation titled Television Broadcast Regulations, LaLiga outlines the elements that would make football a captivating affair with stadium infrastructure taking centre-stage.

The elements should, according to LaLiga President Javier Tebas Medrano, “enhances our brand, to add further value to our assets, and to make LaLiga a desirable product in the eyes of the world’s media. This will raise the profile of our teams and give them new opportunities.”

LaLiga places high premium on the playing surfaces and more so the condition of the grass in terms of evenness, hardness of the ground and colour of the grass among a raft of other requirements.

The Kenyan stadia are a far cry of what LaLiga demands to make broadcasting of their league matches a good product in the eyes of viewers.

Through the ‘Asociación Española de Greenkeepers’, with which it has signed an agreement, LaLiga has set out to perform a maximum of two audits during the season, one prior to the start of the second half of the league.

“The pitch must be completely covered by grass. There should be no bare areas. The grass should be free of all weeds, such as clover, kikuyu and poa annual bluegrass,” the LaLiga requirements say.

It adds: “The condition of the grass - and therefore its appearance - has a direct bearing on the audiovisual perception of a game. In addition to creating an excellent playing surface for the game, the good health and condition of the grass to enable excellent conditions for play has a positive impact on the image projected by LaLiga, and its teams and the facilities.”

The height of grass matters a lot in LaLiga.

“The grass must be cut to a height of between 20mm and 30mm. The grass must be cut to the same height across the whole pitch. The Match Delegate may measure the height of the grass on the match day to ensure that it is within acceptable margins,” LaLiga requirements state.

Kenyan Premier League chairman Daniel Aduda described the tour as an eye opener.

“We’ve a lot of take homes from this tour especially how to make our product (the League) desirable. Given it is all about fan experience.”