Movistar, the Spanish arm of Telefónica, is set to support and widen the access to esports across tournaments, at events as well as on television via partnership with ESL.

This is a big move for all esports scenes in Spain with the financial clout of a major company in support of their growth.

Players in Spain will be able to look forward to sponsored amateur and professional competition in titles such as CS:GO and League of Legends, from open cups up to the Spanish ESL National Championship. Movistar will also be present at events such as the ESL Expo.

Manuel Moreno, Managing Director of ESL in Spain, had this to say: “ESL has been active in developing electronic sports in Spain for over ten years and supporting national talent through a variety of competitions and events. This agreement is a monumental step forward for esports in our country. Both companies are world leaders in our respective industries and there is no doubt that this partnership will reinforce Spain’s position on the international stage.”

Luis Miguel Gilpérez, CEO of Telefónica España, added: “Movistar has been participating in major esports events for years, creating LAN parties and providing the best fibre for competitions. The agreement with ESL will help us create an esports ecosystem that will allow Movistar to develop and promote esports in Spain, making it one of the leading players in what is already the ’21st century sport’.”

The press release on the ESL site concluded with the additional news that Movistar is set to launch a “Movistar esports” TV channel in its network. This will show local Spanish esports events and broadcast a total of 13 major events in 2017. Esports will also be broadcast at times on other Movistar channels.

Esports Insider says: We generally haven’t heard much esports news coming from Spain outside of the VFO in recent times but this deal is a major one. It should make a mammoth difference to the local scenes throughout Spain. More esports on traditional TV too is no bad thing for getting word out there and ensuring people realise that it’s here to stay.