FremantleMedia Launches New Football Format

LONDON: FremantleMedia is introducing a new soccer-themed format from legendary footballer Gianluca Vialli, and will present Football Nightmares to international buyers at MIPTV in April.

Football Nightmares is an 8×1-hour series co-developed by Vialli and FremantleMedia Italia. When local grassroots football clubs go on a dire losing streak, two ex-professional players set out on a mission to transform the team. The professionals have seven days to tackle the club’s issues, which range from disorganization at the management level to conflict among players to poor training facilities.

Vialli, who played for Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea, stars in the Italian version of the reality show along with his friend and former football player Lorenzo Amoruso.

Rob Clark, the director of global entertainment at FremantleMedia, commented, “Football is the only truly global sport. It has the ability to unite communities regardless of country or culture. Football Nightmares is an inspiring format that taps into that passion and community spirit. It shows with expert guidance and motivation teams can be inspired to transform their performance. The Italian version is brilliantly entertaining and the format has the perfect combination of emotion, genuine characters and comedy moments to give it all the makings of a hit.”

Vialli, executive producer of the series, added, “Football Nightmares was a real labor of love which was born from my adoration of the sport. I’ve had a longstanding career within the industry and I wanted to use this opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with struggling non-league teams to get them back on track and reignite their passion. Not coming from a TV background, it was important to work with the right partners to transform my idea into a reality and FremantleMedia were the perfect fit for this project.”