EA Sports Teams With DFL For FIFA League, German Championship Series
Video game publisher EA Sports has officially signed an agreement for a new FIFA league involving the German Football League (DFL). The brand new league will help to decide on a German championship in the popular soccer (football) video series. The FIFA news comes just as EA is about to launch the latest installment of the hit video game with FIFA 19.
DFL chief executive comments on FIFA league
EA’s FIFA 19 game is expected to be amongst the top selling games in the coming month or so in multiple countries. Germany should be amongst them, as games are super popular there. According to a Sport Business report (Sept. 24), the German Football League’s chief executive Christian Seifert believes this was a smart move for Bundesliga teams. Seifert said that electronic games are like a “part of daily life in culture in Germany” and elsewhere.
Seifert said of the DFL’s strategic partnership with EA:
Against this backdrop, it is a wise decision for clubs and DFL to further expand their engagement in this area. It’s about shaping the future and responding to changes in media and leisure consumption in this digital age.”
The DFL is the governing body over Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 leagues. As of right now, the report indicated there are 11 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs with players who could represent them in the league’s competition.
It’s important to note that EA is a partner and licensee for Bundelisga and Bundesliga 2. They signed a four-year extension that started this year and extends through the 2021-22 season.
Other FIFA league success, UEFA plans
Back in 2012, Bundesliga made history when they launched the Tag Heuer Virtual Bundesliga. It was the first launch ever of a professional football league’s competition involving the FIFA video game. The success of that tournament has been quite extensive too. As a result of esports’ popularity, this past year saw over 150,000 players participate in the tournament.
Just a week ago, UEFA also said they were looking into launching an esports tournament. That tournament would tie into the 2020 European Championships. The European football governing body asked for firms interested in helping out with the event to send in a formal request for proposal with a deadline in mid-October. There will be a presentation in Nyon, Switzerland to the UEFA.
The format of this tournament would reportedly involve online qualifiers. However, it would move towards a championship which might be held in London, England, per Inside the Games‘ report. The latest version of the game, FIFA 19, arrives on September 28th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC everywhere. The FIFA 19 early access arrived for some gamers last week.