Manchester City have today announced a new collaborative partnership with FaZe Clan, one of the biggest and most popular esports organisations in the world.

City already have a significant esports presence and even have their own dedicated FIFA esports player in Shaun ‘Shellzz’ Springette, a PS4 specialist who finished as 27th in the world in terms of Global Series Points on PS4 in 2019 (FIFA 19), just missing out on a place at the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Finals in August.

FaZe Clan is a hugely popular esports organisation based in North America, having professional esports players who specialise in games like Fortnite, Counter Strike, Call of Duty, PUBG, Rainbow Six and FIFA.

In terms of FIFA, FaZe Clan have Xbox specialist FaZe Tass amongst their ranks, a player who finished 13th in the world in terms of Global Series Points on Xbox in 2019 (FIFA 19), and went to the 2019 eWorld Cup Grand Final, eventually going out at the last 16 stage.

They also have Fortnite esports star Nate Hill, who is often seen streaming Fortnite whilst wearing City colours, as he is a massive fan of Pep Guardiola's side.

The collaboration will include a shared training facility created by both FaZe Tass and Shellzz, the professional FIFA esports players from both organisations, limited-edition co-branded products, exclusive content, events and YouTube content.

“Esports is the world’s fastest growing spectator sport and this collaboration with FaZe Clan marks the start of an exciting new chapter in Manchester City’s esports journey," said Nuria Tarre, chief marketing officer at City Football Group.

"We recognise that fans want to celebrate their love for football across many aspects of their lives, including fashion, music and gaming, to create a culture that goes beyond what happens on the pitch.

"We are looking forward to working with FaZe Clan to provide our fans with new and immersive ways to engage with the Club.”

“This alliance with Manchester City creates a powerful opportunity to join our collective fan base and cultures on and off the field," said Lee Trink, FaZe Clan chief executive officer.

"FaZe Clan will continue to push the boundaries of gaming and esports by engaging our fans with experiences that are meaningful, memorable and surprising.”

While many City fans may have no idea who FaZe Clan are, the younger generation - a demographic City are clearly looking to target - will know all about them.

Boasting 7.1 million YouTube subscribers - more than the official channels of City, Manchester United and Liverpool combined - the reach of their content is enormous.

Back in 2017, City worked with FaZe to create two videos for their channels. City's video reached 90,000 views on YouTube.

On the other hand, the video posted on FaZe's channel was watched 752,000 times.

(Image: Youtube - FaZe Clan)

FaZe also dominate on Instagram and Twitter, social media platforms that are becoming increasingly important to football clubs looking to engage with their fans.

Not only do FaZe excel in their creative output, their merchandise drops have also proved to be extremely successful.

After partnering with Champion, their FaZe Clan branded hoodies sold out in less than a minute in November 2018.

The move to combine with exclusive merchandise drops with the allure of the Premier League champions will only boost their popularity among young fans.

Some may question the move to partner with an organisation formed by teenagers playing Call of Duty nine years ago, but it will prove to be a shrewd one.

City made history in 2017 by becoming the first Premier League club to reach one million YouTube subscribers - by partnering with an esports organisation as big as FaZe Clan, they may have stolen a march on their rivals yet again.