A month long daily production that had viewers glued to their television monitors. That was Kick Off World Cup, the football show on Melita Sports that has earned its producers the first Malta Television Award in the Sports Category.

Having two nominations out of three, Kick Off World Cup and Melita Champions League, was a good omen, but producer and presenter Peter Paul Gauci was still on tenterhooks till the fated envelope was opened and the winning name declared to the audience who packed the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

“It was very gratifying to receive this award. It shows that all the hard work put into the production was appreciated, and it inspires us to continue with the high standard achieved so far in our productions,” declared Gauci

A production, technical and presentation crew of over 30 people experienced the World Cup 2006 from the Studio 7 Studios at B’Kara and from Head End at Madliena, as daily matches were broadcast live, sandwiched between the programme Kick Off World Cup.

Passion still ran high as crew members sided with their favourite teams during nail biting matches, but all was controlled as soon as the red light was on. The strength of the programme was that it presented objective views and criticism, illustrated by the slow motion reviews of dubious action on the pitch.

Peter Paul Gauci is currently producing and presenting the weekly programmes Kick Off and UEFA Champions League on Melita Sports