MUNICH: For the first time in the history of the Bundesliga, all the first and second division clubs will have their own teams to compete against each other in an eSports competition to determine the virtual German champions. DFL, the country’s governing body of football has joined hands with Electronic Arts (EA) for this competition to be run only on a soccer simulation game.
This can be considered an extension of DFL’s partnership with EA as the brand was renamed as the official partner and licensee of German football till 2022 this year. In 2012, the DFL had launched an eFootball competition, the TAG Heuer Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) which is the only competition so far to be directly integrated into the game EA SPORTS FIFA. The VBL has enjoyed steadily growing popularity with more than 150,000 e-athletes taking part today.
“Not only is eSport highly popular among the younger generations, it has almost become part of everyday culture – in Germany and far beyond. With this as a background it is a right decision that clubs and the DFL further expand their engagement in this area. It is a matter of shaping the future and responding to changes in media consumption and leisure time in the digital age”, DFL CEO Christian Seifert said.
Incidentally, the development comes a week after DFL had signed deals with marketing agency, Infront and the country’s leading eSports brand, Stark to launch its own gaming league.
