Adidas move into Chinese esports market with Lyon EDG sponsorship
December 11 – Adidas have signed their first eFootball sponsorship deal focussed on the Chinese market with Olympique Lyonnais backed Lyon EDG for their FIFA Online 4 team.
esports
eFootball: Germans line up 22 Bundesliga clubs for inaugural VBL Club Championship
November 10 – The German FA (DFL) has finalised the 22 teams that will kick off the first edition of the TAG Heuer Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) in the battle to become Germany’s first club champions in eFootball. The Bundesliga will provide 13 teams while nine will come from Bundesliga 2.
FIFA and EA Sports launch first eFootball weekly global player ranking
November 28 – FIFA and EA Sports have launched the first global ranking platform of eFootball players that will be based on Weekend League performances and FIFA Global Series events. The first ranking was released this week with Joksan– toping the list with 850 ranking points.
Norwegian FA enters esports arena with first national team playing on FIFA and PES
November 22 – The Norwegian FA has officially launched their six-player official esport national team that will focus on EA Sport’s FIFA and Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer games. Four players will specialise on the PlayStation platform and two on Xbox, meeting six times a year at the Ullevaal Stadium in a dedicated esport arena.
In the game: eMLS adds three new club teams for 2019 season
November 22 – Major League Soccer’s eports platform – eMLS – will go into its second season in 2019 with three new teams, taking the league number up to 22.
FC Nantes completes eFootball.Pro League club line up for December launch
November 14 – France’s FC Nantes will complete the six-team line-up of clubs for the first season of the eFootball.Pro League, the esports competition that will be played using KONAMI’s Pro Evolution Soccer video game.
EA Sports and UEFA launch eChampions League with $280,000 prize pool
November 12 – UEFA and EA Sports have unveiled plans for the new eChampions League which will start in March 2019 with knockout competition and culminating with a final in Madrid on May 31, the day before the Champions League final.
FIFA 19 expands pro-player focus with in-game kits for esports pro teams
November 5 – EA Sports has been building new league partnerships in recent months with European leagues, including the Premier League and Bundesliga, for competitive leagues in its FIFA 19 platform. Now it has partnered with 13 worldwide esports professional organisations.
Boavista FC is 5th club to join e.Football.Pro’s PES league
October 25 – New eSports league e.Football.Pro has signed Portugal’s Boavista as the fifth participating team for Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer platform.
DFL launches Virtual Bundesliga with call for club entries for Jan 2019 kick off
October 23 – Germany’s DFL will kick off its first esports league, the VBL Club Championship (Virtual Bundesliga), on the EA Sports FIFA 19 platform in January next year. Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 teams have until December 21 to register teams.
PSG esports builds in China with joint LGD Gaming team to play FIFA Online
October 22 – Paris Saint-Germain has expanded its esports division partnership with Chinese esports organisation LGD Gaming to form a FIFA Online team as it builds its brand presence on the continent.
Alisports secures Happy Valley shirt for WESG qualifier as it drives esports profile
October 19 – Alisports, the sports arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has signed a deal with Happy Valley (HVAA), a Hong Kong first division club, to promote Alisports’ esports World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) event.
Man City boost esports team with Epsilon hook-up for Gfinity Elite Series
October 12 – Premier League Manchester City have partnered with top esports team Epsilon for the Gfinity Elite Series.
Denmark’s top tier clubs to compete in new launch eSuperliga with pro players
October 11 – Denmark’s Superliga is launching its own esports championship with the top tier clubs set to begin play in the eSuperliga on November 5.
Celtic join Barca, Schalke and Monaco in Konami’s eFootball.Pro league
October 10 – Serial Scottish champions Celtic are set to test their league dominance skills internationally and join the eFootball.Pro eSports league alongside FC Barcelona, Schalke 04 and AS Monaco.