November 1 – FIFA’s esports division has unveiled its qualification process for the returning eNations Cup and eClub World Cup as well as the pathway to the eWorld Cup 2020.
By Paul Nicholson
October 31 – The esports business is expected to generate $1 billion of income this year, rising to $5 billion annually in five years time. It is an income growth wave that football has been keen to catch, but a report by the KPMG Football Benchmark team argues that the attraction of football to esports should not be solely about revenue generation.
October 24 – Holland’s Eredivisie is gearing up for the start of the eDivisie’s fourth season on November 11 with a new partnership with DreamHack and an updated competition format.
October 15 – It’s being described as the weirdest derby on the planet.
October 10 – Adidas, one of FIFA’s six top tier partners, has added sponsorship of the the governing bodies esports package – the FIFA 20 Global Series – and will provide the official in-game ball.
September 27 -Manchester City has partnered with esports business FaZe Clan to bring closer together the fans of the club and video gaming with a range of new experiences.
September 27 – UEFA has unveiled details of its first ever eSports European championships – eEURO 2020 – that will be played on Konami’s eFootball PES 2020.
August 22 – The eFootball.Pro League is set to expand with more clubs as well as introducing a competition for amateur players – the eFootball.Open – that will see a rebranding of the PES League.
August 21 – With FIFA have just announced record breaking numbers for the finals of its eWorld Cup, UEFA has announced the launch of UEFA eEURO 2020, a national-team eFootball tournament that will see all 55 of UEFA’s national associations kick off play this November.
August 15 – The FIFA eWorld Cup, won last weekend at The O2 in London by German Mohammed ‘MoAuba’ Harkous, hammered previous competition viewing records, growing 60% to 47 million views.
July 30 – The PSG brand push into the esports arena has now seen the PSG.LGD partnership secure a reported six-figure shirt sponsorship deal with online bookmaker Betway for its Dota 2 team.
July 3 – Japanese videogame maker Konami Digital Entertainment has signed a co-operation agreement with Manchester United for its eFootball PES 2020 game. The announcement follows news that Arsenal have extended their global partnership with Konami for a further three years, taking them through to June 2022.
June 28 – With the FIFA eWorld Cup now in full flow Electronic Arts and FIFA have released figures showing a huge mark-up in viewership for the early rounds.
May 29 – There is one Champions League trophy that won’t be going to England this weekend, in fact it might not even remain in Europe.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – To what extent does doping infiltrate esports, a craze that has enjoyed phenomenal growth in recent years with prize pools of several million dollars and FIFA even organising their own eWorld Cup?