Football clubs are being urged by experts to not just take the safe option of EA Sports FIFA series when considering eSport plans. Instead, these experts are telling football clubs to consider bolder, non-sport options for gaming teams as well.
Manchester City and West Ham have blazed a trail for other Premier League clubs but their eSports teams are focused on the football video game, replicating on the screen what the clubs do on the pitch.
Mark Cox, UK head of publishing for American video games giant Riot Games, said the business acumen and training expertise of football clubs combined with the inside knowledge of an eSports operation would be a potent mix.
He highlighted how former NRL (National Rugby League) executive David Harris was part of a consortium that bought the League of Legends team Dire Wolves in 2016, who play in the Oceanic Pro League. The League of Legends is a multiplayer battle arena game.
“The team has gone so far since that happened,” said Cox, speaking at an eSports forum in London.
This is one interesting possibility as we see professional teams weigh eSports options in America and abroad. It will be interesting to see if professional sports leagues take an NBA model to heart and begin to push for their own leagues over the coming years as well.
