Zidane launches reality TV search for new talent

Reality TV has helped discover fresh musical talent and now two veteran football stars in Spain plan to use the format in a global search for a new star of the game.

France legend Zinedine Zidane and Enzo Francescoli of Uruguay on Monday unveiled a new reality show called “Football Cracks” which will follow the progress of 17 promising young players from around the world who are selected to attend a six-week training camp near Madrid.

The participants will work with top trainers, sports nutritionists and a psychologist, and the winner will receive the opportunity to strut their stuff during the 2010-11 pre-season at a Spanish first division club.

“I hope everyone will enjoy it, that there will be a lot of talent and that we are going to discover many young people for the future,” Zidane told a news conference at Las Rozas just outside of Madrid where the camp will be held.

The former Real Madrid star currently works as an advisor to the club’s chairman, Florentino Perez.

Castings for the show will take place in 20 cities in various countries, including Argentina, Colombia, Ghana, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain and the United States, as well as online.

The 50 best candidates will travel to Madrid on April 23 when the lucky 17 who will take part in the training camp will be selected.

The show will be produced by Spain’s MonoFilms and it will be broadcast on its web page www.crackstv.com.

Producers are also in talks with television stations in several nations, including China, Spain and the United States, to sell the rights to air the show.

“This is an opportunity for kids to understand that it is not just talent that is needed, that there is a ton of other things that are needed to be a professional footballer,” said Francescoli.

For his part Zidane, who named his oldest son Enzo after Francescoli, said he was “pleased” to work on the show with the former Uruguay international, who was his childhood idol.