Mumbai: SONY SIX, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel on account of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ announces the launch of a flagship prime time football wrap around show “Café Rio” and an invigorating live breakfast show “Football Extraaa” on all match days. It comes with the promise of encapsulating the most interesting and entertaining aspect of the tournament. True to the channel’s philosophy of staying inclusive the shows will captivate both the football purist and the fringe viewers. The shows will feature some of the most eminent names from national and international football as studio guests including Peter Crouch, Robbie Fowler, Peter Shilton, Mikaël Silvestre, Ellyse Perry, Sunil Chhetri along with Bollywood star and football enthusiast John Abraham interacting and analysing the game.
Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony SIX, said,” 2014 FIFA World Cup™ is the biggest and most anticipated football tournament of the world and keeping with the scale of the tournament we are excited to present to our viewers the most renowned and eclectic line up of current and erstwhile football stars as studio guest. I believe John’s presence will render our show a generous dose of glamour and entertainment while the guests will bring in a lot of wisdom and insight, offering our audience an unmatched primetime football viewing experience. The hosts and experts on the shows are sure to keep the audience assimilated and glued to their television sets.”
Coming on board as a studio guest John Abraham said, “I am really excited to be a part of “Café Rio” the prime time wrap around show on Sony SIX. It’s a great platform where you can see me interact and analyse matches with some of the greatest legends of football. I am sure with this convenient match timings and great line up shows, the viewers will be glued to Sony SIX to watch their favourite teams sweat it out.”
In introducing the impressive line-up, we start with Peter Crouch, fondly known as “Crouchy” has represented his country in two World Cups and is a current Premier League player. He is accompanied by former professional footballer and manager Robbie Fowler who made a mark in English club football scoring 183 Premier League goals during his memorable spell at Liverpool, making him the sixth-highest goal scorer in the history of the Premier League. He was part of the England's squads for Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Another significant name in football to join the SIX panel of guest is English goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who currently holds a record for playing the most number of games for England football team. Shilton made his World Cup finals debut at the age of 32 and has played in 17 World Cup matches and shares the record 10 clean sheets in World Cup finals with French keeper Fabien Barthez. The wrap around show will also witness the presence of French defender, Mikaël Silvestre with an international footballing career spanning over 15 years Silvestre was part of the French squad that made the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Another sporting sensation joining this elite group is Ellyse Perry a sportswoman who made her debut for both Australian football and cricket teams at the age of 16 and continues to play both the sports. She is the youngest person, male or female, to represent Australia in cricket and the first Australian woman to have appeared in both cricket and association football World Cups. And completing this haloed group of experts will be Sunil Chhetri, the famous Indian striker who made a name for himself as the AIFF Player of the Year three times, in 2007, 2011 and 2013. He played an instrumental role in India’s win in the 2007, 2009 and 2012 Nehru Cup as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship.
The two shows come with their own unique flavours, with “Café Rio” a live primetime show at 8pm leading up to the match kick-off at 9.30pm is a blend of sports and entertainment, the show entails interesting facts about victorious teams, historical venues and stalwart players along with in-depth analysis and discussion about squads, player forms, group standings and strategies.
The live breakfast show “Football Extraaa” is a daily morning round up show for viewers to relive the excitement and fun of the previous day matches. The breakfast show will be telecast between 8.00 am - 9.00 am and will review and provide in-depth analysis of the earlier matches. This show will also be interactive where audience can dial in and share their perspective or ask questions to our studio guests.
The set has been designed to replicate the essence and the fervor of Brazil’s animated and lively carnival, simultaneously evoking the sheer magic of the game. The dynamic palate of colors integrated into the set resonate the Brazilian spirit and passion for football. As an endeavor to enable the audience to experience the magic of 2014 FIFA World Cup™, the set reflects the football mania with portraits of eminent players and a background that recreates the ambience of a stadium.
Both shows will be telecast across the Indian subcontinent where Sony SIX has exclusive rights to broadcast 2014 FIFA World Cup™.
Profiles of the studio guest:
Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch born 30 January 1981 is a current English footballer who plays for Premier League club Stoke City as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team from 2005 to 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country in that time, and appearing at two World Cups.
At Liverpool, Crouch enjoyed considerable success scoring 42 goals, winning the FA Community Shield and FA Cup in 2006 and also gained a runners-up medal in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final.
He went on to join Stoke City in August 2011 scoring 14 goals and winning the clubs player of the year award and continues to enjoy a successful run at the club.
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard "Robbie" Fowler born 9 April 1975 is an English former professional footballer and manager who played as a striker from 1993 to 2012. Fowler was known for being a natural scorer with an instinctive goal-poaching ability.
Fowler is best remembered for his playing days at Liverpool and is the sixth-highest goal scorer in the history of the Premier League. He scored 183 goals in total for Liverpool, 128 of which were scored in the Premier League (162 Premier League goals in total). He subsequently played for Leeds United and Manchester City, before returning to Liverpool in January 2006.
He was capped for England 26 times, scoring 7 goals. Fowler was included in England's squads for Euro 96, Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton, born 18 September 1949 is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for the England men's team than anyone else, earning 125 caps, and he also holds the all-time record for the most competitive appearances in world football.
His 30-year career includes eleven different clubs, two European Cup finals and more than 1,000 competitive matches. Shilton also represented England at UEFA Euro 1980, the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 1986 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1988 and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He has the distinction of playing over 100 league games for five different clubs.
During his time at Nottingham Forest, Shilton won many honours, including the First Division championship, two European Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, and the Football League Cup.
Mikaël Silvestre
Born in Chambray-lès-Tours, Silvestre started playing football with the Rennes Football Academy in Brittany and began his league career with the French club in the 1995–96 season. His time at the club helped build his reputation, and in the 1997–98 season was signed by Inter Milan. He was at the peak of his career while representing Manchester United from 1999 to 2008 post which he played for Arsenal for couple of seasons.
Silvestre earned his first senior cap for France on 27 February 2001 in a friendly against Germany that ended in a 1–0 win. He won the Confederations Cup both in 2001 and 2003 with France. Silvestre was also part of the French squad that made the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Alexandra Perry born 3 November 1990 is an Australian sportswoman who made her debut for both the Australian cricket and football (soccer) teams at the age of 16. She played her first cricket international in July 2007 before earning her first football cap for Australia a month later. Perry is the youngest person, male or female, to represent Australia in cricket and the first Australian woman to have appeared in both cricket and association football World Cups.
A defender, Perry represented Australia at the 2008 Asian Cup, and scored in one of the matches. She played for the Central Coast Mariners in the Australian W-League during the 2008–09 season, before transferring to Canberra United the following year.
In June 2010, Perry began her media career by hosting the soccer-related show Football Stars of Tomorrow, screened on the digital sports channel One HD.
Sunil Chhetri
Sunil Chhetri born 3 August 1984 is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bengaluru FC in the I-League. Born in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Chhetri began his professional career at Mohun Bagan in 2002. He then moved to JCT Mills where he scored 21 goals in 48 games, the most he has scored for any side in his career. He signed for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer in 2010, becoming the third player from the subcontinent of note to go abroad.
It was with the national team that Chhetri gained fame and made a name for himself. He helped India win the 2007, 2009 and 2012 Nehru Cup as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship. He was also one of India's best players during the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup in which India won the tournament and thus qualified for their first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years. He then led India in scoring during their campaign at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup with two goals.
Chhetri has also been named AIFF Player of the Year thrice in 2007, 2011 and 2013.
