Infront & FIFA to produce World Cup TV preview

Infront Sports & Media and FIFA have agreed to produce the official preview series as part of the build-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It will be distributed exclusively by Infront and made available to the international television market in February/March 2006. The new series marks the first time that FIFA has endorsed an official television series leading into a FIFA World Cup. The show will consist of a series of 16 x 26-minute programmes. They will combine a wealth of unique and originally filmed material - including interviews with players and managers - with special in-depth items on the countries and teams that have qualified for the event. The series will draw on the extensive heritage of the FIFA Archive, which is also managed by Infront on behalf of FIFA. The preview series will also feature the most up-to-date footage from both the qualification and friendly matches, showing the current form and potential of all qualified teams. FIFA and Infront will work closely with the Local Organizing Committee to showcase the host country, Germany, covering preparations for the event and introducing the 12 venues to the viewing public. "This is the first time that FIFA has directly sanctioned a TV show previewing an upcoming FIFA World Cup", said Jérôme Valcke, Director of FIFA Marketing & TV. "This is a very welcome endeavor for FIFA - and for the fans of football - since the show will extend the exposure period of the FIFA World Cup on television beyond the actual tournament." "There will be plenty of innovative and fascinating feature-based items in the series," said Oliver Seibert from Infront. "We want to look at the FIFA World Cup from some interesting, unusual angles, providing the audience with the opportunity to see the FIFA World Cup from behind-the-scenes, to learn about the complexities of the host broadcast plus other various short features looking at the creation of the mascot, animations, the official music and the technology behind the creation of the match ball. Interest in the FIFA World Cup phenomenon is much wider than the traditional football audience and it is this wide audience that we want to reach, to build excitement ahead of June next year."