Fairfax has detailed the AFL’s plan to move into the lucrative Esports market.

Firstly, the AFL now owns Etihad Stadium and is very keen to hold an Esports event there. It’s also reportedly encouraging AFL clubs to either sponsor Esports teams or create their own. We’ve already seen this overseas with a number of high-profile soccer and NBA teams already creating and sponsoring their own teams.

It’s clear that Esports is about to take off in Australia in a big way. IEM Sydney is taking place this week in Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena with huge international teams set to battle it out in front of over 20,000 people..

It’s understood that the AFL has been looking to get into the Esports market for some time. It’s been reported that former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou had met with Riot Games to discuss how the sporting giant could take advantage of the up and coming market.

It’s also said that the New Zealand Warriors from the NRL has been in discussions with a number of Australian teams.

Thanks, The Age.