By IME BASSEY & KATE OBODO

Soccer Rumble is expected to be the next TV Reality Show in which football fans will be glued to. The executive producer, Chief Austin Izagbo, a former Commissioner of Sports in Delta State ,former member of the Nigerian Olympic Committee and also, Chairman/CEO Crown Media Nigeria Limited is known for voracious appetite for success. He spoke to Sunday Vanguard Sports on the TV Show and the recent free fall of the country’s football. Excerpt:

Soccer Rumble has finally come into maturity, what are your feelings like?

I feel very fulfilled, having come this far with the project. We have tried to do it all alone but were unable to do so. So we had to get the best of hands to come on board and we have found synergy. It is great having five companies driving this product which we (Crown Media) are funding.

What actually prompted Soccer Rumble?

I like good ideas; somebody came up with the idea and saw it was good, so I am putting my money on it.

Why football in stead of other sports?

Football is the king of sports, I was the President of the Nigerian Hockey Federation (NHF) and a council member of the Africa Hockey Federation (AHF). In all, I still respect the game of soccer, because of the viewership and the amount of money that is involved, both in the organizational and the marketing aspect. There is no other sports like soccer, that is the truth.

Don’t you think the focus on soccer alone, will affect other sports in terms of publicity?

No, I don’t think so. The more we promote soccer, the more we bring to focus sports in general. So, I do not think focusing on football alone will make other sports unnoticed. And I believe Nigerians are soccer lovers and will be very happy with the concept especially as we will not be participating in any of the footballing event billed for next year.

Where do you see soccer Rumble in the next five years

I see Soccer Rumble grow from an African brand to a global brand. Nigerian Idol was somebody’s initiative . Who wants to be a millionaire was also somebody’s idea and now it has become a globe brand. In the next five years, Soccer Rumble will become a globe event.

How much do you intend to touch the lives of football fans with this show?

It is a product which will put the Nigerian football fan-base on intellectual raise instead of them fighting at viewing centers; they will be brain storming to compete on the show to make money in-turn, joining the global money-pot.

As a former member of the Nigerian Olympic Committee and former sports commissioner in Delta State, Can you share your feelings on Nigerians’ inability to clinch any ticket for all of the international football competition next year?

It is disappointing, disheartening, devastating and near suicidal most especially in an economy which is not that good for the masses. Most people have not discovered how much our prowess brings to us in international competition in terms of funds that is why some sections are not pained. It will be very painful for us to watch others in international competition for 12 months next year.

What are your hopes on the London 2012 Olympics without football for Nigeria?

You can’t put anything on nothing to get something. Our performance is a function of how organised and prepared we are as a country. How much preparations have been put into the preparation of Team Nigeria ahead of the Games, this tells you of our preparedness. The U-23 team played their best game in their last match against Algeria, this is a pointer to the fact that team sport grows by each play.

These days, we depend solely on foreign-based athletes to represent us in international competitions. It shows that we don’t prepare our athletes well enough at home. The days of school sports are gone. National Sports Festival has become a stage where States buy athletes instead of fielding groomed athletes.

What is the way out of the wood?

Of course, we have failed in all angles, the best we can do now is to go back to our School Sports which is the bedrock of all sports.