As football fans across the world look forward to this summer’s FIFA World Cup Brazil, Kia is set to feature in a new TV series on 40 television networks worldwide from early May that charts an epic 3,000 mile football road trip across South America in order to discover the secrets of the continent’s passion for the beautiful game.
[ads id=”0″ style=”float:left;padding:9px;”]‘Road to Rio’ is a six-part TV series that will see comedians and football fans Mark Watson and Henning Wehn at the wheel of their Kia Soul, as well as other Kia vehicles along the way, travelling to six football-rich countries and discovering how, as an education for children and a religion for parents, football is a way of life in South America.
The football-obsessed duo take their trusty Kia from Uruguay to Brazil and en route they laugh with football-crazy locals, face roadside dramas with llamas, sample the local cuisine and meet a host of footballing legends – a line-up that reads like the ultimate South American fantasy football team.
Six episodes: Six Footballing Nations
The intrepid explorers start their journey in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay and host city of the very first football World Cup, where they attempt to track down Alcides Ghiggia, the only surviving player from the 1950 World Cup final. They pitch their wits against Paolo Montero and attempt to get the inside track on Luis Suarez from his mother.
Next in Argentina, Henning and Mark uncover the secrets behind the country’s footballing success with the help of Alberto Tarantini and try to beat goalkeeping hero Sergio Goycochea in a penalty shoot-out on his live TV show. Off the pitch, they play tennis with Ricky Villa and Henning and Mark turn detective tracking down the elusive Diego Maradona.
Kia Soul and Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro
After crossing the Andes into Chile, the boys visit ex-West Ham defender Javier Margas’ extraordinary motel, go for a spot of wine tasting with Elias Figueroa and bake a birthday cake for Chilean goal-machine Ivan Zamorano. Heading up the Caribbean coast to Colombia, Mark then spends a night on the town with Faustino Asprilla and they hear about the dark side of Colombian football, before Henning spends a day as a referee.
On reaching Sao Paolo, the boys undergo some Brazilian male grooming before tracking down 70s legend Rivellino, meeting the future Pele (Pele’s own son) and after various thwarted efforts finally tracking down World Cup winner and Middlesbrough legend Juninho.
After five roller-coaster weeks Henning and Mark eventually arrive in Rio. Mark takes to the air in a hang-glider to investigate how World Cup preparations are shaping up and the boys visit what will soon be the most famous stadium on the planet, Estádio do Maracanã. They also meet the Captain of Brazil’s legendary 1970 World Cup winning team, Carlos Alberto, and revive a 1970s Brazilian craze, Autobal – football played by cars.
In between all this, Henning and Mark learn to be gauchos, worship at the Church of Maradona and take a tour of Pablo Escobar’s house with his brother. They also meet Falcao’s father at a local football match and feast on kilo after kilo of South American steak!
